


Tangled Up in You

by Rachel_Lu



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Tangled (2010) Fusion, Disney, Disney Movies, F/M, Falling In Love, Frenemies, Friends to Lovers, Genderbending, Inspired by Tangled (2010), Inspired by a Movie, Love, Rapunzel Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-17 04:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9304160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachel_Lu/pseuds/Rachel_Lu
Summary: The one thing John Smith wants more than anything is to see the 'lights' that float in the sky on his birthday every year, but his 'brother' won't let him leave the tower. Luckily, local criminal Rose Tyler stumbles upon him in time to take up the adventure for herself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You probably have guessed from the title: this is, in fact, based on Tangled, with the Doctor as dear, sweet Rapunzel and Rose as the dashing Flynn Rider. 
> 
> It deviates from the story a little, only to make scenes longer or to make them blend with the Doctor and Rose better (ie no musical numbers, making the Snugly Duckling scene longer, etc). As a result, most of the dialogue is original, though some of it is ripped from the movie. All rights belong to the owners, blah blah, you know the drill.
> 
> I got this prompt from @timepetalsprompts on tumblr (I hope you guys over there like it to!)
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it! I'm a little nervous to post this since I got it from tumblr. Please review :)

There was once a royal family, and they lived in a kingdom that was quite lovely, and things rarely went wrong. When the Queen was pregnant with her first child, she fell very ill, and that was when things went wrong. 

It was a legend, a guard told the King, that there was a flower that held the sun and could heal the Queen.  The King, of course, filled with love for his wife, sent his guards all throughout the land to find the flower.  

A very evil man that was known simply as "the Master" was using that flower to remain young, for very selfish reasons, but he made a mistake.  He left the flower uncovered by accident and the guards found it, uprooting it and bringing it to the Queen.  When she drank the potion mixed with the flower, she was cured, and the baby, a boy they called John, was born happy and healthy!

But, things grew dark on the kingdom when the Master snuck into the castle and tried to take a piece of the healthy baby boy's hair.  It was dark, and when the Master cut it, it turned a burnt red-brown, like the sun had scorched it, sending it alight with highlights that would have been beautiful to a person ready to admire such beauty.  The Master, livid and feeling cheated, took the baby, leaving the King and Queen to mourn their child as though he had died.  

And that is where our story begins.

*****

John had been trapped in the tower for eighteen years, his dark hair growing and growing. As a teenage boy, he was quite insecure about it, and tried all sorts of methods for tying it up and making it look manly, but that didn't seem to be the thing to do. 

"Why can't I cut it?" He'd asked the Master one day, who was his brother. (Or, of course, that was what he told John he was).

"Because our mother would have never wanted it!  You have a special quality about it." The Master had replied, hand over his heart. "Come, I'll brush it for you.  Think of the sun again."

And every time the Master brushed John's hair and made him think of the sun, that powerful magic would get to work.  John's dark hair would glow, and heal the Master's wrinkles, coloring his hair blond again.  John barely noticed, such was his love for thinking of the outside world.  It was almost as though he forgot what an incredible gift he had.  But he knew it happened, knew he was helping his brother heal himself, but he was fond of the idea because he cared quite a bit for his brother. And so it continued.

"How come you get to go out and I don't?" John asked as he lowered his brother from the window on his hair.  

"Because I'm the oldest and mother always preferred me to go out. You were the baby, John.  Still are. I have to keep you safe, for her.  You're the special one."  He tapped the side of his nose, and John nodded.  He supposed that was fair.  Not that he knew anything else, of course.  When the Master was down in the grass, John pulled his hair back up.  He just wanted to cut it so badly.  The Master had an easy to take care of cut, and John, although he didn't envy it, wished he could have a coiffed up look as well.  

To pass the time, John painted. He painted all over the walls and ceiling, using his hair as a pulley system (the only thing it was good for, really) to get him up high enough to paint the top corners of his walls. 

He pulled back the curtain that hid his star chart and painting of trees and what he called the 'floating lights'. They were mysterious lights that floated above the horizon on his birthday, and only on his birthday, every year. He hoped to gear up the courage to ask his brother if he could go and see them.

"I've been thinking about something, brother," John said as he brought his brother back up to the tower.  

"Your birthday!" The Master grinned.  "Of course!  What would you like?"

John blinked. Well, maybe this was going to be easier than he thought. "Well, um, I want to see the lights."

"The stars?"

"No, no, the lights," John gestured to his painting. "They come out on my birthday, they come from town.  I want to go see them." 

The Master chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, I don't think so, John.  I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" John asked, sitting down on his bed. "I can't cut my hair, I can't leave the bloody tower.  I'm going to be nineteen!  I'm an adult, I should get to do what I want!"

"Enough!" The Master shouted, and then his face cleared, and he smiled pleasantly.  "The world is cruel, little brother. There are drunks, stealing and murders, and floozies!  Fast women with no regard for a man like you, John!"

John thought for a moment, about women. "That doesn't seem so bad."

"John! It is bad!   The world is dangerous!  You're safe in here. You remember what they said about your hair, how _special it is._ What it does.  It's what our parents would want, to keep you safe.  People would kill you for your hair's powers.  Can't you see all that?"

John sat back, frowning.  "I think our parents would want me to live my life."

"This is ridiculous.  Just tell me what you want for your birthday."

John blew out a sigh, tugging on the one short piece of his hair, the reddish brown piece, and wishing that the rest of it could be that short.  "I guess... I'd like some of that paint, made from the seashells."

"That's a three days' walk, John," the Master protested.  

"Well, I thought it might be... Better than the lights," he mumbled, staring down at his breeches. 

The Master sighed.  "Oh, alright.  We'll cook up some dinner and I'll leave in the morning, how's that?"

John forced a smile. "I only wish I could go out and get something for _your_ birthday, brother."

The Master tapped the side of his nose. "Cheeky.  Mum probably would've smacked you for that one."

John didn't think their mother would have, even if he'd never known her. 

The next morning, the Master acted as though nothing had happened the day before, and so John managed to muster up some courage to ask again. 

"Are you... I thought I'd ask again, brother, if I could see the lights?"

The Master turned, surprised, "We talked about this."

"I know, but I'm an adult, and I really think that-"

"John! Get it through your head! You are never leaving this tower!  Ever!" He rolled his eyes when he saw the expression on John's face. "Great! Now I'm the bad guy."

They sat in silence for a few moments before the Master walked to the sill. "Let me down, John, I'm going to go get your birthday present. Remember?  Instead of the lights?"

John nodded, feeling defeated.  He let his brother down to the ground and then leaned on the windowsill, wishing that things could be different. 

******

"Whoa, boys!"

Enter Rose Tyler: bandit of the century, most wanted throughout the kingdom.  She tied her skirts to look like breeches when she went on a heist or was about to commit a crime.  She was really rather lovely when she took down the skirts to flow around her ankles, and the way her corset held her within her blouse had the men begging to work for her.  She turned over her shoulder to the two burly men helping her with the current heist.  

"Look at _this."_ She leaned her arm on a turret and looked out at the view of the town. "Bloody gorgeous that is.  You'd better stop me before I get used to the view."

No one moved. 

She breathed in and nodded. "That's it, guys. I want a castle."

"Come on, Tyler, let's get this done before we run out of time."

"Alright, alright," she shook her head and took off along the roof again. "God, you're no fun!"

They took off along the roof, towards where Rose had figured out the room the prince's crown was being kept.  Rose's thugs tied a rope around her waist so they could lower her down and she shook her head, tutting a little. 

"You know, do they really think their prince is coming back?" Rose asked, "He's probably dead."

One of the thugs chuckled.  "He's dead."

"Gotta be," Rose agreed and saluted her thugs before they opened up the roof and Rose was dropped down. 

And there it was, the grand crown. It looked like a classic King's crown, and it was made for the Prince.  Oh, sweet Prince John, that the whole kingdom missed, she thought dryly.  As she was shoving the crown into her bag, she heard one of the guards sneezed. 

She set her hand under her chin, like she was just relaxing, and said, "Ugh.  Hay fever?"

The guard turned around and smiled, "Yeah," like it was completely normal and acceptable that she be there. Once he turned back around Rose tugged the rope for her thugs to haul her up and she heard the guard call out "Hey! Wait!  Wait!" After her, but it was too late. The crown was in her bag and she was off like a shot across the roof of the palace again, on the way out. 

"Can't you picture me in a palace of my own?" She said cheekily as they ran off the property, "Because I certainly can!"

They ran, the guards chasing them at full force, calling after them.  Rose ran harder, trying to get away from them, adrenaline coursing through her, and they found what Rose thought was a small cliff that they needed to climb.  She shook her hand a little at them. "Well, come on, help me up."

"Not so fast, Tyler," one of the thugs said, "How do we know you just won't take off with the crown?"

She pouted. "Oh, you don't trust me?" Her face fell when she saw them staring blankly at her. "Ouch."  She reached out and threw her satchel into their hands.  "Fine," she said, "I'll help you up and then you'll give the crown back to me, alright?"

The men seemed to agree with that and they helped hoist her up onto the grassy ledge.  She grunted and threw her leg up over, rolling onto her side and grinning at herself. 

"Hey!  Aren't you going to help us up?" One of the thugs lifted his hand. 

Rose smirked and dangled the satchel (that she had nicked quite effectively) in front of them.  "Sorry boys!  My hands are full!"

She stood up and took off, to the tune of them shouting "We'll get you for this, Tyler!"

She knew that she had to find somewhere to hide once she heard horse hooves behind her.  She panicked, trying to find a place to hide.  She tried to press herself against a wall of leaves, and then, inexplicably, fell through the leaves just as the royal guard passed her by.

She hit the ground with a 'oof' and lay there for a moment, sorting her wits, and sorting how she had just _fallen_ through what had appeared to be a solid _wall._

"Okay, up!" She said to herself, rolling over onto her stomach and pushing herself to her feet.  In front of her was a giant tower, with a waterfall behind it.  It looked like nothing she had ever seen before, and she knew she had never been there before. 

"Wow," She whispered, and had a crossing thought that maybe she could go _in_ the tower to lay low for awhile. They'd be looking for her for at least a day before they just scouted for her and would plan to tackle her down when she was out getting apples or something. 

She went towards the tower and looped around it, but she saw that there was no door.  And there was only one window.  She decided that there was nothing more inconvenient than what had just happened.  She sighed and set about climbing up the wall of the tower.  

It was a long climb, and she had to remind herself not to look down two or three times before reaching the sill.  She grunted as she hoisted herself over the edge.  She sat on the sill and untied her skirt, letting it fall back around her legs, though a bit wrinkled. She tutted to herself and smoothed out the blue fabric, and then suddenly there was a striking pain in her head and she fell, unconscious, to the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about all the confusion with the whole 'posting two copies of this' I've fixed it!!! Hope you enjoy :)

When Rose came to, she was sitting upright in a chair.   Well. That didn't seem right at all, she had just come over a windowsill and- she couldn't move her arms?  Or legs??

She had tried to pull her hand up to touch her forehead, and she couldn't move it. She immediately screamed and was knocked out again.

When she woke up a second time, no one knocked her out.  She looked around where she was and moved her arms and legs, trying to fight against what was clearly retraints.  She looked down and saw dark strands that were certainly not rope wrapped around her wrists and ankles.  She opened and closed her mouth, in shock, as her eyes followed the long path of dark chestnut...

"Is this... _Hair?"_ She asked incredulously, not quite sure who she was addressing, really.

"Struggling is pointless," A male voice said. It sounded like the kind of voice that would be strong if he didn't sound scared.  

Rose grunted and fought against her bonds some more. "Um, yeah, could you tell me what's going on here?"

"I'm not afraid of you.  My... My brother thinks I should be, but I'm not!"  He stayed in the dark for another moment before creeping out from the shadows, holding a frying pan of all things.  His stance was strong and confident, but his face betrayed his nervousness.  He had great arms, she noticed, as his hands gripped the handle of the pan.  "Who are you, and how did you find me?"

Rose felt her jaw dropped.  It was a shame this man was being kept in a tower, because _blimey,_ he was gorgeous. She could see past the (frankly absurd) long hair to see a chiseled jaw, pouting lower lip and deep brown eyes that felt like they could destroy her and put her back together all at the same time.  

She smiled coyly at him.  "Dunno who you are," She said, shifting a little, "And I don't know how I came to find you here, but I just have to say..." She looked up into his face and winked. "Hello.  How are you?  My name's Rose Tyler." He didn't speak, so she spoke again, "How's your day going?"

He lifted his frying pan again, a little shakily, and she felt her eyes widen. He wasn't going to hit her again, was he, not now that he knew who she was?

"Who else knows where I am?" He said.  "Who else knows where to find me?"

"I came here by accident!" Rose said, fighting against the bonds and knocking her head back on the chair behind her.  "I was in a.... Situation, just skipping along, and I came upon this tower, so I came up here to _hide._ Hang... hang on!  Where's my satchel!?"

"I hid it," the man said, his voice low and dangerous.  "Somewhere you'll never find it," he finished.  Rose felt her jaw drop. He'd hidden it?  Why?  

"Wha- what?" She shook herself. "You _hid it?"_

"What do you _want_ with my hair?" the man demanded,  ignoring her question.  "To cut it? To sell it? To sell _me?"_

Rose gasped a little, choking on her own laugh.  "Look, pal, I don't want anything to do with all your hair. The only thing I want with your hair is to get _out_ of it."  She jerked her arms in the chair and looked at him purposefully. 

He seemed unaffected by her struggling.  She fell back in her seat and rolled her eyes.  "What a gentleman," She muttered to herself.

"Wait..." he said, sounding a little confused.  "If you don't want my hair, then why are you here?"

Rose held up a finger, a little difficult to do in her current situation, but she managed it.  "Hang on.  Why would I want all this hair?  All I did was climb this tower because I was being chased, alright? That's all."

He narrowed his eyes at her.  "You're being completely honest, yeah?"

"Yes!"

He looked over his shoulder and back at her.  He seemed to be recalling something, and he murmured to himself, "Floozies."

"Oi!" She shouted, her eyes widening, more than a little offended. "What, you gonna call me a chav next?"

He looked incredibly surprised by her reaction and it occurred to her that perhaps he didn't really know what that word meant.  Now that she'd spoken, though, he seemed to be shuffling through ideas in his head. 

After a moment's hesitation, he stepped closer to her.  "Do you know about these?" He gestured over his shoulder to his painting of the lights. 

Rose cocked her head.  "Oh, you mean the lanterns for the lost prince?"

"Um. I think that's what I mean." he said slowly, not wanting to embarrass himself.  For some reason, the idea of embarrassing himself in front of this girl, no, this _woman,_ was incredibly unappealing.  He wanted to make a good impression and he wasn't really sure why.  Judging by the way she was scowling at him, she seemed to already hate him.  

Rose lifted a shoulder. "What do you want with the lanterns?"

"I have an idea."

"Well, do you want to share with the class?" she asked.

He gave her another puzzled look and shook his head. "I don't know my way around out there. You do.  If you take me to see the lanterns, which will appear tomorrow, and bring me back, then I will return your satchel."

"You can't do that!" she protested, "That's... That's... Well, it might be bribery!"

"Well, if you're not even sure, how can I be?" He smiled sheepishly. "So what do you say? Will you?"

"Um. I can't."

"Why not?"

Rose rolled her eyes. Wow, this guy really did live in a tower and not see _any_ of the outside world.  "The kingdom and I aren't exactly on the best terms at the moment.  I can barely take myself somewhere. "

He narrowed his eyes at her.  "Something brought you here, _Rose Tyler,_ and I can't pretend to know what it is, because I don't believe in fate, _but-"_ he paused and crossed his arms over his deceptively strong chest, "But I'm going to trust you."

"Why would you do that?" Rose asked, genuinely stunned. She had climbed into his house and he had thought she was attacking him, but now he _trusted_ her?   That really didn't make a lick of sense.

He shook his head, dismissing her.  "You could tear the tower apart and never find what you're looking for," he said, "I'd have to help you.  So, if you-"

"Wait, wait, wait, hang on," Rose tried to lift a hand. "So literally _all_  I have to do is take you to see the lanterns and then bring you home?  And then after that, you'll give me the satchel? No questions asked?"

He nodded. "I promise."

"Do you?"

" _Yes."_ He looked offended that she would think otherwise, and against her own will, it made her smile.

She still felt a little suspicious, but they'd be out in the open, he wouldn't hurt her. She leaned back in the chair to size him up.  He was lanky, but there was a layer of muscle to him that many wouldn't be expecting.  "Would you protect me if guards came after me?"

"I don't know how."

"No, of course you don't.  Well, you can't go out with all this... Hair like this."

"I can't cut it."

"Well, I dunno, let me braid it or something."

He wrinkled his nose at her.

"If you're gonna say it's a girl hairstyle, you just shut it and look what you tied your prisinor up with, yeah?" She snapped, and he had the good grace to look sheepish.

"You can braid it by yourself?" He asked skeptically.

She snorted.  "I'm the one and only Rose Tyler. I can do anything."

"So wait... Does that mean you'll take me?"

Rose pondered this for a moment and finally decided. She nodded. "Yeah. I'll take you to see the dumb lanterns."

A grin broke over his face that could've rivaled the beauty of the sun. She blinked in surprise when she saw it.  He nodded, as if to himself. "Yes, sounds good, _thank you."_

"Alright, just untie me now, yeah?"

She was released from the chair and she squinted at him as he pulled all his hair around to the center of the room.

"We'll have to get out of the tower first," he said to her as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She raised her eyebrows.  "Why?"

He gestured to his hair. "Because.... We have to climb down it."

"Are you kidding?"

"No? Why would I kid about that?"

Rose had to keep herself from smacking her forehead.  He definitely didn't understand sarcasm.  "Alright, whatever.  So what, do I just slide down?"

"Yes."

They let themselves down, the both of them, but when he touched the grass, he seemed overwhelmed by what was around him. His mouth was wide open in awe and he stared at the sky and the grass and everything around them.  She glanced around. It was just the outside-?

"Come here, sit on a rock or something so I can braid your hair," she waved him over.  He grinned broadly and walked over to a stump, but not before coasting his toes through the grass. 

"This is wonderful!" he gushed. 

"It's grass."

"I've never-" 

"Do you need to have the frying pan?"

He'd brought it with him, of course, and he looked at it. "Just in case," he said. "There's ruffians and thugs out here.  And floozies."

"Sure.  Okay. Sit."

He obediently sat on a tree stump but it seemed very difficult for him to stay focused.  He looked around at the trees and the waterfall behind his tower and she had to tug his head several times so she could braid his hair.  She cocked her head as she pulled at his thick hair, leaning her weight onto one hip. "So, what's your name then?"

He looked over his shoulder. "John."

"A boring name."

He looked a little offended. "Not.. No, I don't think it is."

"Well, you wouldn't, it's your name," she pointed out, "But you've also been living in here for God-knows-how-long, so it don't really count, does it?  You don't know any other names."

"I suppose that's true," he admitted, and tugged the ends of his hair into the center.  "Here."

"God," she breathed, looking at all the hair. "How do you exist?"

"It's very difficult to brush," he said.  "But it's... It's good now."

She took a very long time going ahead and braiding his hair, because it was too long for words. She had _never_ seen hair like this, and she came to the conclusion that he had literally been growing it since the day he was born.  

He sat perfectly still while she braided it, not complaining, and she suspected it was because he didn't want her to take back that she would take him to see the lanterns. 

She, on the other hand, was absolutely furious and wished he'd just give her her satchel.  It would make things easier. This would practically be babysitting, and people in town would probably pick on a man with hair so long.  She wanted to grumble to herself and complain, but he was just too close for that.  

"Alright, come on," she said to him once she finished.  "We've got to get moving if you want to see the lanterns."

He was already distracted digging his bare toes into the grass again, grinning to himself. Rose rolled her eyes.

This was going to be a long trip.


	3. Chapter 3

 He was as excitable as a rabbit, this one.  Rose followed John with her arms crossed over her chest as he ran through the field, his hair flowing out behind him in the massive braid she'd put it in.  She supposed she couldn't blame him for being so excited, he'd never been outside before, but she was past the excitement of the outside world. 

"Are you coming, pretty boy?" Rose asked, exasperated, after several moments of watching him run full sprint through the grass.

"I can't believe I did this!" he shouted back, and Rose was astounded, as she had never seen someone prance before.  He slowed to a stop shortly after.  "I can't believe I did this.  Brother will be so furious."

He started pacing in the grass, his hands behind his back.  "But that's alright, isn't it?  He'll never know."

"That's right," she said, "He won't know."

"No, he always said how much our parents loved me and how special they thought I was and I... Oh, this would kill him."

Rose dropped her arms and groaned. "Then let's go back to your tower."

"No, no, I want this, I want to do this," He clenched his fists and she was drawn to the muscles in his arms.  She looked away quickly.  Looking there wouldn't do her any good at all.

"Okay, then let's go."

"I don't want to do this."

"O- _kay,_ then we'll-"

"But I've waited my whole life! And I want to... I want to go see the lights. Yes.  I want to."  He nodded, more to himself, and then collapsed onto the ground by a large rock.  "Oh, he's gonna be so _mad."_

Rose rolled her eyes and sat down next to him. "I can't help but notice that you're a little... I dunno, conflicted?  Right, so you've got an overprotective brother and a happy life here, but it's forbidden for you to go anywhere even though you're an adult and hey!" She splayed her hands out in a defensive motion.  "It's part of growing up!  And maybe your brother doesn't deserve this and it would crush his soul, but... Hey!"

He jumped at her last word, a little shocked at her words.  "You think it would crush his soul?"

"Maybe."

He pursed his lips.  "You're right. I shouldn't do this."

"Ah!" She got to her feet. She reached to help him up.  "I am right.  All right, listen.  Here's what I'm going to do.  I'm going to...." she sighed dramatically, "I'm going to take back our deal.  I get my satchel... And it's contents.  And you get back a brotherly relationship for the ages. Where's your pan? Did you bring your pan?"

"No!" he shouted.

She blinked. "No, you didn't bring your pan?"

"No, I don't want to go home. I want to go to see the lights, that's all I have wanted since I was a kid!  And you promised to take me!"

"Now, promise is a strong word," she protested. 

"And I'm going!" He yelled, crossing his arms. 

Rose wanted to say loads of things. She wanted to say that he was probably going to be laughed at for his long hair, that he was going to be laughed at for running around the city and gawking at everything because he didn't know anything about life. She didn't want to have to babysit a grown man, or take him to see the _stupid_ lanterns for the _stupid_ lost prince.  She just wanted her satchel back, with her crown.  That's _all._

She didn't say any of it.  She blew out a long sigh.  "Fine," she said.  "But the second, and I mean the _second_ that the lighting of the lanterns is over, I'm bringing your sorry arse right back here, do you understand me?"

He nodded, looking a little meek, and she furrowed her brows.  She'd never seen a grown man look so rejected.  She blew out a sigh and shook her head.  Something must have happened to him in that tower. She wondered if his brother was a little more aggressive than she had originally thought.  

"Okay," she said softly, "Let's go."

His face brightened like the sun and he nodded excitedly.  He then stuck his hand out for her and wiggled his fingers, like he was edging to hold her hand.  He looked so hopeful, that she couldn't refuse him.  She slipped her hand into his, thinking it would be easier to keep him in check this way.

Oh, what the hell.  He smiled at her and she tried not to roll her eyes at him. They were going to have to try and sneak into the city.  There were people looking for her everywhere, after all, especially now. 

They walked out the way Rose had come in and almost immediately she stumbled across a poster of herself.  "Oh, come on!" She pulled away from John and ran to the rock where it was pasted up. She pulled it down and pointed at it, pouting. "I have a way better nose than this."

He blinked. "What?"

"They always get my nose wrong," she complained. "Ugh," she crumpled it up and threw it to the ground. "That's alright.  Maybe they won't find me then."

John swallowed a little, not sure what it was, exactly, that he had gotten himself into here.  She was a criminal.  But a nice one! Who was offering to help him... Because he was bribing her with her own satchel... Right.

"Are you thinking again?" Rose walked a little closer to him.  "You know what, I know a great place for lunch!"

"Where?" John asked, wrenched from his thoughts.

"Oh, well.  Don't worry! You'll know it when you smell it!" She grabbed his hand and tugged him towards a path.  He followed along, holding her hand, and seeming very pleased with himself for it.  

John, of course, had never been out to eat anywhere, so he asked excitedly, "What's it called?"

"The Snugly Duckling.  Cute little place," Rose lied easily through her teeth, smiling.  

"Oh!" John grinned, swinging her hand a little. "I like ducklings."

She looked him up and down. "I'll bet you do."

He missed what she was trying to say, obviously, and barely heard all the sounds of crashing and yelling from the pub she was taking him to.  he just kept smiling.  Whoever had named the place, she always thought, had been drunk while doing so.  But she led him along, because he was oblivious and really thought that he was going somewhere on a lark.  She also thought it would be a bit funny to see his reaction to the whole thing.  

The closer they got, the more unnerved he seemed to be.  "Ruffians and thugs," he said softly, and looked at Rose, "And floozies."

"Oi, you can quit calling me a floozy now, or I'm not gonna let you hold my hand."  it was a threat only because she knew she was his only anchor.  

"I wasn't..." he started, and then sighed. "Alright, fine, I'll stop."

"Good on you," she said happily, and kept tugging him along until they reached the door. She released his hand to push the doors open and a chorus of cheers met her arrival.

"Rose!" All the men lifted their beers to her, and she heard John gasp behind her.  She took a mug out of one of the men's hands and took a swig of it before giving it back.

"Hello, boys!" She said, waving to them all through the fog that was settled over the room.  It was muggy and disgusting and Rose absolutely thrived in it.  She knew every man by name.  Especially the man who swooped over and kissed her full on the mouth before stumbling over his feet going back to the bar. 

The men cheered and she shook her head, laughing.  John took her arm and pulled her back, looking very alarmed. 

"Rose Tyler, that man attacked you." he said quietly.

Rose laughed and shook her head. "No, _that_ was Captain Jack Harkness.  Drunk enough half the time to believe that he _is_ a Captain!"  She shouted the last part, making the men cheer and guffaw.

"Who's that?" Asked one man with a peg leg and disgusting fingernails.  "Got a lot of hair!"

Rose leaned her hand against a table.  "Yeah. He's growing it out."

"Want a drink, John?" She asked, "Pick your poison."

"Oh... I've never," he said softly.  

"No, I'm sure you haven't!  Let's start the man off with a beer, shall we?"  She said, gesturing to the bar.  John smiled shyly and waved a hand dismissively.

"No, I don't need a drink, I need to-"

"What's this man here for, Rose?" A man crossed his arms over his chest.  "Bring him in!"

Rose pulled John in front of her and started pushing him.  He tried to dig his feet in but he couldn't quite manage it.

"Do you smell that?" Rose asked, close to his ear.  "Take a deep breath!  What are you smelling?  Because I think I'm smelling a bit of 'bad man smell' with some 'really bad man smell' mixed in.  My point is, these men don't smell very good."

"He was right, that _is_ a lot of hair!" One man shouted, reaching out to touch John's braid.  

Rose released John and pushed him forward, turning to the man.  "Look at this!  John, come here, is that blood in your mustache, sir?  John!  Look at all the  _blood_ in this guy's mustache!"

John, however, had taken off and tried to get away from everyone, holding out his frying pan defensively.

"Sir," Rose continued, putting her hands on her hips, "That is a lot of blood."  She turned around and saw John, who had backed into a rather large and imposing man, and immediately started shaking.  The man growled at him and John backed up until he hit Rose. He yelped and whipped around.  Thinking fast, she grabbed him by his shoulders and looked up into his ashen face. 

"John," She tilted her head to the side, doing her best 'concerned' look, "You don't really look well?  Maybe I should take you back home, yeah?  Don't want you to have a heart attack or something."  

He frowned, like he was considering it all, but he shook his head, "No, I'm-"

"This is as good as it gets, John," she started pulling him back towards the door as he looked around, sharp eyes darting everywhere in fear.  It seemed like he was trying not to let anyone jump him, though Rose had a feeling that any ruffian and thug would feel bad tackling him to the ground.

"If you can't keep up with this crowd,"she shook her head. "You're just too tender, John, I should really take you home."

John opened his mouth to reply, looking very confused about the whole thing, really, but a giant man next to the door slammed it shut, preventing their escape.  It was a man Rose had never seen before.  She furrowed her brows at him.

"Oi, you'd better let us through!" She said, putting her hands on her hips.

"This is you, isn't it?" he pointed at a poster that was on the back of the door.  His sausage like fingers splayed over the poster, and so she shifted one of them.  

She rolled her eyes. "No, obviously that's not me, look at that nose!" 

"It's her!" piped up a man in the back, waving his hook at her.  "Someone, go get the royal guard."  He grabbed Rose by the back of her dress, tugging her around. She struggled for several moments, but she quickly realized that she was not going to be able to get out of this one with physical strength.

"Oh.  Oh, no," Rose mumbled to herself.  

"That money's gonna be mine," the man said, as a younger, scrawnier man took off out the door with two others to find a guard.

And then, just like that, everyone started arguing about _who,_ exactly, would be getting the money, and who would be taking Rose Tyler captive.  The huge men started passing her around, and she flailed and kicked and shouted, but it really didn't do any good, as she was a head shorter than alll of them, at the very least. 

"You were all my friends a minute ago!" She protested, squirming angrily.  

"Sweetheart, you of all people know that money does funny things to people!" someone shouted.

John was panicking, and Rose could see that from where she was, vaulted above the crowd.  He reached up and tried to push to her, following through the crowd. "Oi!  Stop!  Stop, that's my guide, she's my _guide,_ let her down!"

"I'm sure we can figure this out, gentlemen!" Rose shouted as the ruckus in the bar grew louder. 

John, for lack of anything else to do, was hitting the large men with his frying pan.  Unfortunately, even though John had muscle, these men had bigger muscles and skin like leather, and it was almost like they didn't feel him striking them at all.  He also could think of loads of ways he could use his hair as a weapon, but Rose had insisted he _braid it._

So as four men each held one of Rose's limbs and one man was winding up to knock her out (her hissing and spitting all the while) John sauntered in front of the man and clubbed him across the face with his frying pan.  Rose's jaw dropped and the man blinked.  John shrunk back a little. 

Oh. They were in trouble now.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys have been enjoying this so far! Please review?

There were a few moments of silence where John tried to muster up some courage.  "Put her down!" He said, clenching his fists and tilting his chin up.  

The men all stared at John, eyes wide and unblinking.  Rose sat, still suspended, frozen in shock. She had the distinct feeling that she was catching flies, but she couldn't be bothered to close her mouth, because this man had just _shouted!_ This man, with the giant brown braid, obscuring his muscular back, had just _raised his voice!_ She could hardly believe it, really.  And it seemed that most of the others in the room were feeling the same way.  

"I don't know where I am," John said slowly, "But I know I need her to take me to see the lanterns.  I've wanted to see them forever!  You... You have to let her go! I know you've all got... Brains in there, somewhere!  Find them!!  Haven't any of you ever wanted something?"

The men were quiet, and Rose wriggled, but they were so dazed but his words that they didn't say anything.  She looked at John and opened and closed her mouth, trying to get him to keep talking.  

"Yeah, you heard him, he needs me!" Rose said, writhing a little harder.  "So you put me down, you big lugs!"

"I've... I've wanted something," a small man with a full beard and an eye patch stood forward.  "I've always wanted to fall in love."  

The men jeered a little and pushed the man around, letting Rose fall to the ground with an 'oof'.  John went to her to help her up but another large man grabbed her back. Rose cursed under her breath as she was hauled roughly back up.

"Um... Love! Yes, love, that's very noble and good!" John smiled, feeling a bit uncomfortable as he didn't really know what to do with himself.   "What about love?"

"I'm not a very good looking guy," the man said, smiling ruefully, showing blackened out teeth.  John tried not to grimace. "But I've always dreamed about having that special lady to share my life with."

"That's bloody lovely," Rose cut in, "Could you let me down now?"

"I want to play the piano!" The man with the hook shouted, and covered his mouth with his good hand.  The men in the bar cheered, and soon it was a chorus of shouting about what they wanted, Rose was almost, but not quite forgotten.  Rose struggled out of of the men's distracted grasps and fell to John, stumbling a little.  He caught her by the upper arms as she scrambled to her feet. 

"Hello!" He said happily, and she couldn't help but grin back at him when he looked so genuinely happy.  She turned over her shoulder just in time to see a man clap her on the shoulder and grin at her. 

"So, then, what do _you_ want?" The man asked.

"Me?" Rose got up onto a bar table and put her hands on her hips.  "What I want, is an isolated island, covered with nothing but sand and food... And I want to be surrounded, and I mean _bloody surrounded_ by enormous piles of money."

The men cheered, the roar deafening. Rose laughed as she was dragged back into the crowd, any thought of arresting her completely forgotten.  They all danced together as someone picked up a jig on the out of tune string instruments that laid around.  Rose turned to John, her cheeks pink and she laughed with them all. The men danced a little drunkenly with each other, and John looked at them in awe. 

They shouted out what they wanted, and what they needed in their lives, as they swung around each other.  

"And what did you wanna see, hair boy?" one of the men shouted to John.  

"Uh, the lanterns," John shouted back over the music and the stomping.  Rose rolled her eyes. 

"He lives in a tower!  Can you believe that!?"

The men jeered in a good natured fashion at John before they went back to their dancing and yelling about hopes and dreams.  The man with the hook who had said he wanted to play piano sat down at the old, honky-tonk piano in the corner and started playing.  

"Rose Tyler, you never were any fun!" Captain Jack Harkness said, holding his hand out for Rose.  "Come dance with me!"

Rose giggled and looked over at John.  "Come on, find someone to dance with."

"I don't-"

Rose went off with Jack and John huffed to himself, feeling a strip of irritation run through him that he wasn't sure he understood.  He was, however, swept quite easily into the mood of the room and danced by himself, being passed and shoved only a little bit, in the grand scheme of things.  

Soon enough, he got passed to Rose, for only a moment, his hand settling awkwardly on her waist, the other holding her hand.  He grinned at her and she smiled back before spinning around under his arm, skipping away from him and weaving through the crowd. 

She was really, properly dangerous, he realized.  A grin broke over his face and he shook his head.  He couldn't even be bothered to care.  She was helping him realize a dream he had had for a very long time, and he was discovering quickly that he couldn't be doing it without her.  So he clapped along with the music and felt himself start to dance a little.  

They all called out about their needs and wants and loves and John was swept up in the magic of it all.  He had never been around so many people, talking about what they were passionate about.  It was completely enthralling and he soon found himself yelling and dancing along with the rest of them, his steps more graceful than those of the stomping feet of the large barmen. 

"Everyone!" A voice broke through the crowd and the young man who had went to get a guard swung the door open.  "I found the royal guard!"

John yelped and scurried towards Rose. Rose was already headed for him.  She grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him roughly behind the bar, her skirts ruffling out as she squatted.  She put a slender finger to her lips and he nodded, not even daring to unclench his teeth.  As far as he knew, he'd never been in _danger_ before.  He'd always been quite safe.  And maybe his choice of company was somewhat to blame.

"Rose Tyler!" The guard shouted, bursting into the bar, which was now dead silent as the people at the bar now felt terribly guilty for turning against Rose when her friend had been so nice to them.  

"Where is she?" The guard demanded, "We know she's here!  So you don't have to hide your little friend."  Getting no answer, the guard grew irritated and slammed his fist onto the bar.  "Turn the place upside down!  Find her!"

Rose peeked up over the edge of the desk and saw that her thugs were walking in, cuffed.  She slid down underneath the bar and covered her mouth. John gave her a concerned look and she smiled tightly, putting down her hand. She didn't him to get nervous, after all, he'd probably start screaming or something. 

As the guards started shuffling around and before panic could really set in, a hook settled gently on her shoulder. She jolted and looked up to find the man who had wanted so badly to play the piano.  He smiled a little, reveling himself as a friend and not a foe, and flicked his eyes towards the wall.  

He dropped to the ground and started crawling oddly gracefully along the floor.  Rose and John followed, John putting his hand on his hair several times and trying not to curse or stumble.  She shoved his shoulder when he went too slowly and he picked up the pace, pushing the massive braid over his shoulder. 

The man with the hook pushed down a lever that should've spouted beer, but instead dropped a trap door almost right under John's hands.  It creaked and made sounds that made Rose wince almost painfully for fear that they would be caught.  She felt her heart pound painfully, slamming against her rib cage, and blew out a sigh as quietly as she could.  She sucked back in after a particularly excruciating squeak.  They held their breath until the door finally hit the ground with a gentle thump.  They both breathed out a sigh of relief and the man laid his hook on John's shoulder. 

"Go on, then, you live your dream," he said softly, smiling wistfully. 

Rose nodded as she stared down into the trap door, not realizing that he wasn't talking to her. "Yeah."

"Well, no... Not you," the man confessed, "I was talking to him. Your dream isn't that great, Rose."

She gave him a disgusted look.  "Oh, brilliant.  Thanks."  She grumbled to herself a little bit and then started to crawl slowly down the ramp, trying to make her way down completely silently.  Being silent didn't stop her from muttering to herself, "See if I share any of my money with _you."_

Behind her, John turned and clapped the man quietly on the shoulder, smiling kindly.  

"Thank you for everything."  He said earnestly, not sure what to thank him for, only knowing that this had been an experience that he was never going to forget.

The man smiled and nodded.  John followed Rose down into the trap door and he heard it draw up behind them.  

Rose looked over and saw a lantern hanging on the wall. "Ah! Very nice," she said, taking it down.  She swung it over to look at John. "You alright?" She whispered.

He nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I'll be alright."

Rose jerked her head and started off, walking down the path.  She looked over at the wall and saw a skeleton slumped up against the wall, jaw hung open and head hung to the side.  She cringed and moved the lantern to the other side of the little cave they were in before John could see it.

"You were... um, pretty good in there, getting me out of that mess," She said, a little awkwardly.

"I know!" He said, adopting a casual swagger into his walk that made her snort and shake her head. 

"You think you're so impressive," she said, rolling her eyes at him, even though he couldn't really see it. 

"I think I might be," he said, the only sound accompanying them the end of his braid dragging onto the ground.  That was a peaceful moment, even after all the chaos.

Rose, for perhaps the first time in her life, couldn't find anything to say to that. She opened and closed her mouth, taking in the stale air of the cave and feeling a bit like a fish.  Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for her, John decided to speak again.

"So... Rose, where are you from?"

She jolted. "Hey, no, none of that.  I don't really like to talk about my past, with anybody, but... You know, I'm kind of fascinated by yours?" She raised an eyebrow at him.  "I probably shouldn't talk about your brother."

"No, I'd rather you didn't," John said, looking a bit uncomfortable. Rose had to stifle a bit of a giggle at that, and pursed her lips, nodding seriously.

"And you haven't said anything about the hair-"

"My _brother_ says not to talk about the _hair,_ since it's what our parents wanted, and since we're not talking about the brother, the hair is off limits as well."  He grinned at her and she made a face at him. 

"Okay, well, I think I've just thought of a question that I can ask?"

"Go ahead," John said cheerfully.

"Alright." Rose nodded and tried to put a bit of pep into her step. "So, you've wanted to see these lanterns forever, right?"

"Yes," John said, nodding.  "I see them every year from my window."

"Lovely.  Now, you're... Clearly an adult, if a fresh, young one-"

"Oi, I'm not fresh!"

"Try again, tower boy," she shot back, "My question is, how come you haven't gone to see them before?"

John shifted on his feet as they slowed to a stop, her eyes curiously searching his. She was waiting for an answer, rather with bated breath, and she was a bit confused as to why he wasn't saying anything to her at all.  After a couple seconds, she frowned.  

"Well?"

"Um..." he rubbed the back of his neck under his hair, feeling a bit awkward. No one had ever asked him that, obviously, and Rose had the idea that he didn't know how to answer a question like that.  

The ground started rumbling under them, and Rose frowned and looked back the way they'd come.  John felt his eyes widen and he stared that direction too. 

"Um, Rose?" He asked, stepping back towards her.  

She didn't answer, waiting for something to happen.  

"Rose??" He called, a little urgently.

Light from some lanterns lit the cave and the sound of pounding feet made the ground shake even harder at it grew closer.  

"Well, that's it!" Rose threw her hands up as the royal guard started to round the corner.  She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him after her, throwing over her shoulder, "Run!"

 


	5. Chapter 5

John's hair climbing adventures had actually (Surprisingly to Rose) made him rather strong, but this was the first time those muscles were really being put to the test.  He pumped his arms and Rose felt a little bad for making him run, but it had to be done.  She turned over her shoulder. 

"You alright, Tower Boy?" She called to him.

He made a noise and took off, running harder and coming up to be next to her. "Doing fine, thanks."

'Halt!  Halt, I command you, halt!" The guard shrieked, his hysteria mounting.  Rose laughed, throwing her head back.

"That's the Captain of the Guard," Rose panted, as they turned a corner. "They aren't really my friends."

"Blimey, what did you _do?"_

"Not important, time to run!"

"But you've got posters everywhere and-"

"Save your breath!"

They finally reached the mouth of the cave and ran right out of it and onto the ledge of a cliff. Rose held her hands out in front of her as she dug her heels in, slowing to a stop. She looked around, trying to gauge her surroundings.  There was all sorts of wooden machinery surrounding them, which made sense, she supposed.  There was a dam with what looked like an ocean (or at least a river) of water behind it, and machinery branching out from there  She chewed her bottom lip, her mind trying to work quickly and not really managing it.  She looked down and saw that there was what looked to be an entrance to another cave.  That should be the place they should go. She pointed to it, panting in air.  John nodded, trying to figure out how to get there.  

Next to the cave she'd been eyeing, there was another cave that was boarded over. All of a sudden, the boards burst apart and Rose's thugs tumbled out, brushing their arms off and grumbling. Rose gasped and stumbled back, trying to regain her composure.  They'd just been tied up, she'd _seen_ them!

"Who are they?" John asked, leaning over the cliff.

Rose pulled him back.  "No!  They don't like me very much."

As if on cue, the guards ran out of the cave, swords drawn.  

"And who are _they?"_ John practically shrieked, pointing with his frying pan. 

Rose let out a nervous giggle and shrugged. "You know, they don't really like me either!"

John opened and closed his mouth and made an odd whining noise.  This was going to be very difficult.  Finally though, a set look came over his face.  "Could you hold this, please?" He handed her his frying pan and tugged out the pieces securing his hair.  Rose let out a whine of disapproval.

"No, no, no, we'll be tripping all over that!" She complained, letting the pan fall to her side, still holding it, but it hit the side of her thigh.  

"That's what I'm counting on!" she yelled.  His hair came unraveled and he fluffed it out until he grabbed near the end of his hair and threw it.  

Now, John was very good at physics, as there was not much to do in that tower of his, and he watched as it flipped around the edge of one of the wood beams.  He tugged, securing it, and swung down on it through the chasm to the other side.  He skidded against the floor and braced himself, finally stopping to catch his breath.  

"Oh, come on!" Rose shouted, "You're just gonna leave me here?"

"Give me a minute!" he shouted back, tugging on his hair.  She turned around, meeting the Captain of the Guard. He pulled his sword out and stared at Rose. 

"Hello, Rose Tyler," he said slowly.  His eyes were lit with fire and he swung his sword at her.  Out of pure instinct, she lifted the pan and deflected his strike. She was actually surprised at how long it went on, and she went on to fight until the guards were all in a pile at her feet. 

She looked John's frying pan.  "This might be more effective than a sword," she muttered to herself, flipping the handle in her hand.  She looked around and realized that she had nowhere to go. 

"Rose!" John called from the other side of the chasm.  She was about to turn when she felt loads of hair wrap around her waist.  

"You have got to be kidding me," she mumbled to herself as a tug on the hair pulled her down.  She swung towards the ground at full speed and she shrieked as she got closer to her thugs.  Their hands reached up to grab at her and she reached above her to grab more hair and curled her back, pulling herself up just enough to stay out of their way.  

"Rose, look out!"

"I _am!"_ she hissed, as the thugs barely caught her skirts and she was able to swing up almost all the way.  "You idiots!" She shouted at the thugs, shaking her fist.  "Let me escape again!"

She was turned around and didn't notice the wall that was behind her.  She slammed into it, the air leaving her body with a painful grunt.  

As if the very idea of anything that was happening to Rose that day was supposed to go entirely wrong, the Captain of the guard swung his sword and kicked his foot, knocking against a heavy beam until it collapsed, falling across the chasm so that he could walk across.  

John's jaw dropped. If there was one thing he hadn't been expecting, it was certainly that.  As the beam fell, water started pushing out of it as though it had been waiting forever to get loose.  It was like breaking a dam, but the Captain didn't seem to mind, eyes set firmly on John as he walked across the beam.

Meanwhile, Rose was trying to get up over another beam. She had to untie the hair from her waist and climb it to get to part of the fixtures that the water poured down.  She hoisted herself up and right into the water.  She stood up, slipping a little, and wrapped the hair around her hands.  

"Tower boy!  Jump!"

John jolted, looking over at Rose, his attention turned off the Captain.

Rose really wasn't sure if she was going to be able to pull him or hold him at all.  She was slipping a little in the water and couldn't quite plant her feet.  She grumbled to herself and braced herself in a low squat, feet on either side of the wide spout like fixture she was standing in.

John lingered for almost a moment too long. He grabbed his own hair several feet down and jumped.  The Captain almost caught his hair, missing it by only an inch.  John flinched as he fell and swung between two of the thin beams below where Rose was standing.  He skidded through a little bit of water that had dripped down.  He stumbled a little and then tugged his hair down from Rose's arm.  She slipped a little and watched as he started to run.

"You _would_ take the easy way out," Rose mumbled, lifting up her skirts, and starting to slide down the water levels.  She almost fell more times than she was willing to admit, and when the structure started to collapse behind her, she began to panic.  She watched John, following behind him, and hopping over a couple different falling pieces before rolling against the ground that came up to meet her. She stood quickly and ran to John, grabbing up the rest of his heavy hair and running with him, making him keep pace with her.  

She heard the sound of water exploding from the dam behind them and winced. This was not going to be easy. "Come on!" She shouted, looking over briefly at John to see his profile. It was quite a lovely one, but it wasn't really the time to be staring at him. 

"I am!" He said, grinning over at her, sounding very positive indeed.  Rose rolled her eyes. That was a bit much of him.  If he was going to continue to be this nice, she was going to lose her mind.

The water chased them all the way to the cave that she had originally seen.  An enormous crack sounded behind them and she could tell that one of the rock formations was coming down. 

"Go, go, go!" 

They darted into the cave just as a rock was about to fall in front of it. Seeing John's frying pan floating in behind them, she snatched it up and they continued inward. 

Breathless, they fell back against the rock wall.  

"Are you alright?" Rose asked, pushing her hair back from her face.

"Yeah," he replied, "Yeah, I'm alright."

The water was rising around them, and Rose furrowed her brows at it. They did _not_ have time for this.  She tried to scoot farther up the wall but there wasn't much she could do to climb it.  She searched the water with her eyes, trying to see through the darkness and coming up empty. She swore under her breath and dove beneath the waves, her skirts billowing around her.  She came up for air for just a moment before ducking back down.  There had to be a way out, there _had to be._

She wasn't going to die in a cave with the man with the world's longest hair. 

As she was ducking beneath the rising waves, John shoved the handle of his pan into the crevices between the rocks, trying to get them loose.  Rose threw herself into a frenzy and came up next to him, tearing at the rocks until she sliced her palm open on one of them. She bit her lip around a cry of pain and closed her fingers around the injury, diving back into the water to soothe it. 

After a few more fruitless attempts, she came up next to John, pressing herself back against the wall and heaving a heavy sigh. "It's no use.  It's too dark, I can't see anything."

John pursed his lips and nodded, and then dove in the water, splashing around, trying to see where Rose could not. She realized she couldn't let him waste his efforts. She reached down and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, tugging him back up to her.  She shook her head at him as he looked at her, stunned.

"It's not use," she repeated to him, pushing part of his hair out of his eyes.  "It's pitch black down there."

She had never seen a more defeated look on anyone's face and her heart broke for him for just a moment.  He looked at Rose and then slipped out of her grasp, back against the wall.  "I... This is all my fault," he said, and she could hear the tears building in his throat.

She sighed and couldn't really bar to look at him.  He couldn't look at her, just looked at the wall across from her. 

"I never should've done this.  I'm so _sorry,_ Rose."  He faced her a little but didn't say anything other than that.  He tried to breathe deeply but his lower lip was trembling and he sniffed, acting like he wasn't crying.  She opened and closed her mouth and slumped against the wall as he pressed his hand to his head.

Rose felt herself feel a little guilty for him. It was her fault for being a wanted woman, it wasn't all his fault.  She sighed and shook her head.  "No," she said softly.  She shook her head. "Um.  My family is dead, and that's why I act the way I do," She fiddled with her fingers under the water and lifted a shoulder, afraid to look at him.  She glanced up at him anyway.  "I guess someone might as well know."

He nodded and laughed a little, his eyes gentle.  He scooted towards her, as though there was someone to overhear his secret besides her.  "I have hair that glows red when I think about the sun for long enough."

She gaped at him, and all of a sudden, his eyes got very wide, as though he had just realized what he was talking about.  "Oh!  Oh, yes!" He said happily.  "Brilliant! I have _magical_ hair that glows red when I think about the sun!" 

Rose furrowed her brows.  "What?  Really?"

"Yeah!" He shouted, and closed his eyes as the water began to rise.  After several moments, she started to panic.  Nothing was happening. He was a madman.  Not that she hadn't thought that to begin with, though.

Just as the water came over their eyes, he was right.  The hair started to glow, starting at his scalp and moving down, weaving through the water and all the way down to the ends.  She made a sound that was sort of like a scream and put her hand over her mouth.  She'd never seen anything like it before. 

Oh, yes. they were getting a way out.


	6. Chapter 6

There were several moments where Rose stared at John in shock before he opened his eyes and started looking along his hair until he saw where part of it lay, against a pile of loose rocks.  Rose nodded when he looked at her and they swam down to the spot, Rose ahead of John, kicking until they reached the rocks.

The spot with the loose rocks was large enough that, were it were opened up, both of them could have walked through side by side, though John would have to bend down a little bit.  Rose started tearing at the rocks, ignoring her cut, and saw John's large hands appear next to hers, and he pulled frantically, almost keeping pace with her. 

She was almost out of air and knew that if they were going to do anything it was going to have to finish up soon, or they were both going to drown.

It seemed like ages, as her vision started to black out, before she grabbed a rock and pulled it, and saw a crack of light.  She shoved her hand against it and pushed it out, her hand going with it.  She felt the rest of the rocks start to collapse, and she fell with it, the current of the water now pushing outwards.

The two of them toppled over the edge of a little waterfall that they'd created, into a sort of deep stream.  Rose came up for air but the current was pushing them.  She looked over her shoulder and saw John behind her, sputtering and wiping the water out of his eyes.  He swam towards her and jerked his head towards the bank.

"No," she replied, breathless.  "No cover there.  Look, the sun is setting."

She watched as John looked up and grimaced, confirming their suspicions.  She swam with the water now, just happy to be able to breathe again, and heard John behind her. They were going at a comfortable pace now, and she sighed when they finally pulled up on the bank, panting.  And as they did so, she realized what had just happened. 

"We made it," John said softly, breathing heavily.

"His hair glows," Rose whispered to herself, clenching her fists in the grass.

John's face broke out into a huge grin.  "We're alive," he said softly. "We're alive!"  

"His hair glows," she ran her hands over her own hair, smoothing it back.  She looked at the ends of it, running her fingers over them. "Why does his hair glow!?  It actually _glows?"_

"Rose?" John called.  

"What?" Rose snapped, her eyes wide.  She just wanted someone to tell her what was going on, and _now._

John looked a little sheepish and lifted a shoulder. He stared pulling his hair out of the water, which Rose had a feeling was going to take awhile, as parts of it were wrapped around her calf and she was a good ten feet away from him. Well, she thought a little darkly, at least he'd gotten it a good washing.  

"It doesn't just glow."

Rose opened and closed her mouth a couple times and glared at him. "What do you mean?"

John reached his hand down to help her out of the water.  She took it with her good hand and let him pull her up.  She dug her foot into the dirt and stumbled a little, almost falling into him.  

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"Yeah," he said softly.  

"We should probably set up a fire or something," Rose crossed her arms across her chest, not wanting to admit that she was cold, but her wet clothing and the falling night were not helping her at all.   Luckily for her, John seemed to agree. He nodded. 

"I can help," he said enthusiastically.  "I want to."

Rose nodded.  She parted her hair deeply to get it out of her face and looked over at a fallen log that looked relatively dry.  "Get some dry sticks and we'll meet up there," she said.  "There's some shade under that tree.... Yeah.  There is good."

John scampered off to find some dry sticks and she grumbled to herself as she went off to collect some of her own, and some rocks to make a fire pit.  She had a feeling that John was just planning on skipping around and not helping, and she couldn't really fault him, since he didn't know what to do.  

She blew out a sigh and started collecting, hurrying, as she didn't want to still be setting this up when it got dark.  She finally finished several minutes later and returned to the log they had said they would meet up at. 

John was standing there, holding a surprisingly large pile of sticks.  He dropped them at her feet like a lost puppy. "I just got the ones that looked dry," he said hopefully.

She smiled tightly, trying not to be irritated.  "Great, now sit down while I set this up."

He reached for her injured hand. "Let me see-"

She snatched her hand away from him. "You can look at my hand all you want after we set this fire up. We're going to need it since our clothes are wet.  Just go sit down for now."

He nodded, looking a little dejected, and sat down heavily on the log, watching her.  She set up the rocks in a circle and set about making a fire. She'd done it before, when people would follow her and she needed to hide for awhile before she could sell her stolen goods.  She had the fire done in a matter of minutes, and John stared into it for awhile, lost in his own thoughts.  

She looked over at him, careful not to let her hair fall in the fire.  "Are you alright there, Tower Boy?"

He looked down at her and smiled, tugging at his hair a little.  "Yeah, I am.  Just... Big day!" He was being very cheerful, and Rose had a feeling that he was growing tired of his facade.  She had to smile a little at that.  

"Big day," She replied, coaxing the fire to get higher.  Once she found that it was steady, she stood up and dusted off her damp skirts before sitting on the log next to John.  She shifted some of his hair farther away from the fire. 

"Oh, thanks," he said.

"You gotta be careful with all that. I have a feeling there's not a lot of hazards where you're from," she said, "It's um... A lot to take in."

He nodded. "I guess I've never seen anyone react to it before.  It's a little weird.  It was always just normal to me."

"I'd say you should let me braid it again, but... Well, honestly, I just don't feel like it. I was sweating by the time I was done last time."

He smiled a little apologetically. "Yeah... Sorry about that," he said, "you don't have to do it again."

She shifted on the log uncomfortably. "We should've gone to get something at the tavern before we got caught, I'm starving."

"We could get something tomorrow."

"We're going to have to." She said, "We can't just go without eating."

John hopped up. "Wait!  Aren't there edible berries that we could eat, anything?"

"Slow down," she took his arm, winced, and forced him to sit down again. "Not in the dark.  We can't forage for anything when we can't really see what it is."

"Oh," he looked a little deflated, the manic energy that coursed through him tampering a little.  He looked at her hand, which was now laying palm up in her lap.  He grimaced at the sight, the light flicking off his face in a very attractive way.  "May I see your hand, Rose?"

She stared at him warily. "Um.  For what?"

"I'm gonna fix it, give it here."

She slowly pushed her hand towards him.  He cupped her hand in his carefully, and it occurred to her that she was probably the first person that he had held hands with.  removing one hand from under hers, he took a piece of his hair and started wrapping it slowly, almost reverently, around her palm. 

"So..." She said softly.

For perhaps the first time, he said nothing, and this, along with his actions, was making her a little uncomfortable.  She arched her eyebrows at him and sat up a little straighter, not sure what to do with herself. 

"So, you're being very cryptic," she told him.  "And you're wrapping your magic hair around my hand."  She winced as she felt some of the strands dig into her cut. "Ow!"

He looked up at her from where he was hunched over. "I'm sorry," he told her softly.  He finished wrapping her up and stroked his thumb over her wrist. "Just please... Please don't run away."

"Why would I run away?" She asked.

"I just- just don't run.  Don't... Okay, yeah, and don't freak out," he said, his eyes pleading with her, imploring her, for some reason, to stay right by his side.  She couldn't pretend to understand and she wasn't even sure she wanted to.  But she still nodded, transfixed by his gaze.  

"I won't run," she promised him.  

He grinned, "Brilliant!"  He closed his eyes and she had a feeling that he was thinking again, which probably meant that his hair was about to start glowing.  It took a few seconds, perhaps because he needed to focus.  The red glow started at his scalp and crawled down the rest of his hair.  She watched it in awe as it lit up the world around them.  Her mouth was open and she knew it, but couldn't close it because this was, of course, one of the most incredible things she had seen in her life. 

His thumb continued to brush over her thumb as the glow reached the ends of his hair and remained for several moments.  Finally, he released it, and pulled back, releasing a held breath and looking at her happily.  His smile fell when he saw her expression, and he immediately looked nervous.  

"Don't freak out," he reminded her.

She snapped her jaw shut with an audible click and nodded.  He slowly unwound his hair from her hand and she lifted it to her face when he was done.  The cut was completely gone and on top of that, her palm was clean, as though she'd never touched dirt in her life. 

"I- What!?" She dropped her jaw again and John cringed, reaching a hand for hers.  He took it and tried to keep her with him.  She could feel the fear in his touch but she was too focused on the fact that he had just _fixed her hand with his hair._

"I'm freaking out," she told him.

"Oh, don't," he replied on a near whine.

"So, your hair, um, it's what? Magic or something?" She asked, her eyes wide as she pulled her newly healed hand away from him, letting him hold the other one, though she wasn't sure why.  "And, um, how long has it... Glowed like that?"

"Since I was born," he told her firmly.  "My brother tells me that when I was younger, people would try to cut it, then wanted to sell it.  But once it's cut it loses its power.  Here, look," he drew back the hair on the right side of his neck and showed her a short, darker brown part of his hair.  She reached out and touched it before she could stop herself.

"So, what, you can't get a haircut because of that?"

He shrugged, "My brother thinks that I should keep it, no one has possessed qualities like this."

She cocked her head at him, trying to focus in on him.  "And what do _you_ want?"

"I want to be able to live outside of a tower.  But my brother won't let me, to protect my hair.  I want... I want so many things I can never have," he slumped a little. "Things I probably shouldn't want to begin with."

Rose Tyler, of all people, could understand that.  "So you've never left your tower?"  She furrowed her brows. "But you still want to go back after we see the lanterns?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. I have a sense of loyalty to my brother, he's my blood, but... I'm wondering when it might be time for me to make a life for myself.  It's a bit more complicated than that though, not simple at all, really."

He was rambling, and Rose had a feeling that she should probably shut him up before he started freaking out. 

"Well, isn't there something you want to ask me?" She asked.

He licked his lips and scratched his temple. "Um...  I am a bit curious as to your past, Rose Tyler."

She smiled softly. "Well, I'm just your average orphan.  Lived in an orphanage, started stealing, started making my way.  But I was really good with the younger kids." She stared off into the night, not really looking at John anymore, even as he held her hand a little tighter and scooted a little closer to her, his knee touching hers. 

"It was about the tales of this valiant hero," she continued wistfully, "I wanted to be like him."

"Was that hero a thief?"

She winced. "No," She admitted, "Rich enough that he didn't have to steal, and he could travel the world without anyone to hold him back." She shrugged, "I guess since I never had a lot in my life, I idolized that image, but I couldn't have it."

"So you made it for yourself." he said softly.

She nodded. "However possible."  She turned to John, surprised with how close they were, their noses almost touching. "Don't... Don't tell anyone about this, John. It would spoil how people think of me."

His eyes softened, only perceptible to her because she was so close to him. "I don't think so.  But I won't tell."

She swallowed, her eyes drifting down to his mouth for a moment.  She let her eyes snap back and she pulled away, removing her hand from him. "Um. Reckon I should go fetch some more firewood, yeah? For the night." 

She started to walk off when she heard him call out her name. She turned around and raised her eyebrows.

"I... I prefer you this way.  You're kinder."

She smiled a little and whispered, "You'd be the first, John.  Thank you."

His cheeks warmed as he watched her leave with a stupid grin on his face. 

What he didn't notice was his brother creeping up behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review??


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is told from John's POV

"Well," The Master's voice was forced and cheerful, and John's back stiffened and his eyes widened. He hadn't expected his brother to find him. He felt his heart start to pound in his chest, the newfound excitement that had been running through him all day making him dizzy. He swallowed hard as his brother continued. 

"I thought she would never leave," he said casually.

"Brother," John said softly by way of greeting, suddenly feeling a crushing guilt. Of course, he had never expected his brother to find out about this. And now, he was probably going to be hauled back to the tower without even getting to see the lights like he wanted to. Now, that just wasn't fair. It wasn't. 

"Hello, John," the Master said as John turned to face him. 

John couldn't help but think that that his brother looked very ominous, covered by shadows and his eyes glinting with anger. He wanted to shrink back, to apologize. But he wouldn't. Not this time. This was the time when he would stand up to him.

He stood up slowly, letting his hands clench into fists. "How... How did you find me?"

The Master crossed the distance between them and brought his brother into a crushing hug. John winced, his arms locked at his sides. He was shocked, to say the very least. He swallowed hard. 

"Oh! Quite easy," the Master pushed John away and held him at the shoulders. "You make quite a path for yourself. I went on and just followed the sound of utter betrayal." He grinned to offset his words, and John blinked, surprised. 

"Brother-"

"We're going to go home now, John," the Master said firmly, clapping John on the shoulders before grabbing him around his triceps and trying to drag him along.

John's heart fluttered in panic. He didn't want to leave. For some reason he couldn't explain, he didn't want to leave Rose, and he didn't want to go home without seeing the lanterns. It was all he wanted, and no one could take it from him, especially not his own flesh and blood. "No." he said shakily.

"What did you say?" the Master turned slowly over his shoulder, staring at him. 

John swallowed hard, but continued on. "I said no," he said. "You don't understand what I've been doing. I've been on this absolutely brilliant adventure, brother, I have learned so much about the world!" He looked towards the fire and where Rose had gone. He sighed softly. "I even met someone."

The Master rolled his eyes so hard that on some level, it must have hurt him. "Oh, yes, of course! The wanted thief! Fantastic pick, her. Now, come on, John."

"Brother, wait!" John was frantic now, stalling, and he knew it. He ran his sweaty hands over his trousers and looked at his brother. "I think she likes me," he said softly, bashfully, feeling a gentle blush cover his cheeks at the admission.

"Likes you?" The Master scoffed. "That's absolutely ridiculous! She likes you?" 

John stepped forward, feeling a little insulted. "But, brother, I think-"

"This is why you never should have tried to leave!" The Master shouted, his anger rising. "You've even invented a little romance for yourself to help yourself cope. That's enough to prove that you are not ready to do anything yourself. Too gullible, too-" he shook his head. "Why on Earth would she like you?" The Master looked John up and down with a disgusted look on his face. 

John shrank back. His brother had told him before that he wasn't good looking, and the only thing he had to offer was the value of his hair, and maybe that was true. But perhaps... Perhaps Rose saw past all that. Perhaps she looked at him and saw a man. 

"Don't be stupid, John," The Master said, walking away from him and towards the tree line. "Come on, come with me. I do know best, after all."

"No!" John said louder this time, his voice ceasing its shake.

"No?" The amount of shock in his brother's face shouldn't have surprised him. But it did, and it broke his resolve, just a bit. But he couldn't back down, not now, not when he'd come this far. He shook his head and tilted his chin up, determined to be serious about this. 

"N-no." He winced when his voice shook. 

"Ah!" The Master cried out sarcastically as he threw his hands up. "Of course! You know everything now that you've left the tower, don't you?"

"I didn't say that, I-"

The Master cut him off firmly, "What, you think you're mature now?" he spat. "If you're so sure that this little chav has a crush on you, then give her this."

He pulled out the satchel that John knew carried the crown. He swallowed. That was the only thing keeping her with him, wasn't it? Unless she really realized that he was a person, and that... And that she realized he was a man. That was all he wanted, really, and he didn't understand it. He'd never felt this way about anyone before, and he wasn't sure quite how to handle it.

"How did you find-" he began.

"This is the only reason she's giving you a tour of the bloody kingdom!" The Master shook the bag furiously. "Don't let her trick you John, just give it to her! Watch her leave you! Why would she stay if she has this? Give it to her! Do it!" He threw the bag at John, who caught it heavily against his chest with an 'oof'.

"Fine, I will," he said, glaring at his brother and clutching the satchel to his chest.

The smile that lit the Master's face was evil and John was surprised by it, to say the very least. "Trust me, John. No woman in the kingdom would want to stay with you. What a bloody fool you are. But don't come crying back to me when that criminal breaks your fragile little heart, do you understand me?" 

He didn't stay around to hear John's response, just disappeared into the trees. John stood rooted to the spot, gripping the satchel tightly to his chest. His heart was still pounding rapidly, he could feel it, and he was feeling a bit helpless. He would have to give it to her, of course. Just... Maybe not right now. He would have to wait until he calmed down a little bit, so that he could give it to her without his hands shaking. He would have to keep it out of her sights until then.

Rose's voice broke through his thoughts and when it did, he felt an odd sort of calm wash over him. She must be back, bringing the firewood to keep them going through the night. 

She called out without looking at him, "So, can I ask you something?" When he didn't answer, she just continued, "Is there a chance that I could get any sort of magical power from your hair? Like incredible strength in my hand or something? because, really, that would be a bit of brilliant, don't you reckon?"

John shoved the bag behind a tree behind their log before she approached but he now felt, reasonably, a bit distracted. He stared into the woods his brother had gone into, and Rose noticed. She took another tentative step forward. 

"John?" She asked him quietly, and the fact that she used his name brought him back to reality. "Are you alright?"

He turned around and smiled brilliantly at her, letting his emotions get locked away in his mind. he could do that, he could hide from her for just a bit. "Yes, perfectly alright. Guess I'm just a bit lost in thought. That's all."

She smiled at him and squatted down to start fitting pieces of wood into the fire. "Because, you know, I've always been devastating in my good looks, but then being strong on top of it? You can't imagine! Or, maybe you can, because you've never been able to do anything but imagine. You know, in your tower and all-" she trailed off, seeing that he wasn't moving, and sort of looking through her instead of at her. "John?" she said, barely above a whisper. 

Her voice wrapped around his name brought his attention immediately and his eyes snapped down to her. 

"There you are," she said quietly, her voice not as hard and rough as he was used to now. "You've got to stay in the conversation. " she scolded gently, " It's a bit rude to get so distracted."

"I'm sorry." he said bashfully.

She stood up and came to face him. "You're sure everything's alright?"

"Of course," he smiled brightly at her again, and though she seemed to believe him, she leaned over and wrapped her arms around his waist, her head laid against his chest. 

He was shocked to say the least. When he was a little boy, all he wanted was to hug his brother, he craved attention, but his brother would never give it. He'd never really hugged anyone before, never had any sort of affection. He let his hands touch her shoulder blades, and he feared that maybe he was pressing to hard on her. He let himself hug her closer to him, and she sighed happily. Or at least, maybe it was happily. He couldn't be sure, not really. She patted his back and pulled away before he could think about it too hard. His fingers brushed her arms and it made him feel like his fingers were on fire. 

"I-" John snapped his mouth closed and then thought for a moment before saying, "I think it's about time we went to bed, don't you?"

"Ah, old man," she teased. "But you're right, I guess. What side of the fire do you want- you know, wait, you don't get to choose. You can lay between the log and the fire."

"Okay," he said, and plonked right down on the grass, the crown in the satchel eating at the back of his mind. 

She smiled and laid down, her back to the fire. "Goodnight, Tower Boy."

"Goodnight, Rose Tyler."

He laid on his back and stared up at the stars. He'd never seen them this way before, and he thought they looked rather different this way. His mind was weighing on him. He had to give her that crown. He had to know why she was staying with him. If it was just because of the crown, he would move on. if it was something more than that... Well, he didn't know what he would do. But he knew that he would want to stay with her, no matter what happened. But first, he would need to know if she wanted to stay with him. 

But no, she was a woman that didn't need anyone else. She could skip off in a moment and leave him behind, and what would be left? He would have to crawl back to the tower, with all its confinement, and apologize to his brother when he didn't do anything wrong.

He was excited to see the lights, to look at them first hand. There would be no squinting to see them, no leaning over his windowsill to try and see anything with more clarity. No, now, he was going to look at them without anything in his way. He was going to stare at them and take it all in, and if Rose decided she had better things to do, then... Then he would figure out what he needed, where he needed to go.

Rose's breathing was already evening out on the other side of the fire. It was relaxing, to know that another human being was with him, and it wasn't his brother. Maybe that was the only reason he was attracted to her. But then again, maybe it wasn't. Maybe he was just... Attracted to her because she was beautiful. 

He propped himself up on his elbow and looked over the fire at her. She was facing the flames now, turning towards the warmth in her sleep. She was so beautiful. He fell onto his back, starting to doubt himself because of what his brother said. Could anyone truly feel anything for him? He wasn't sure. But he wanted to find out.

Sighing to himself, filled with a mix of excitement and worry, he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review?


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Rose was up bright and early. She looked over at John and frowned. He was still asleep. She was about to think that he would be up and active already, but she supposed he head never had a reason to get up early.  

Over the night, the fire had sputtered out.  She fetched some water from the river they'd come out of and dumped it over the fire to make sure it was out once and for all.  She knelt down next to John and gazed at him, cocking her head to one side.  He really was a good looking man, and she was almost taken aback by it.  She had noticed that, _really_ noticed it, the night before, when he had been healing her hand. It had been intimate beyond anything that she had experienced before.  

She blew out her cheeks. It wouldn't do her any good to think of such things.  Even if she did feel something for him, it wasn't real, it could _never be real._ She was a criminal, and she would return him safely to his tower after this was all over.  It would be difficult, but she would move on. She always did, it was what she did, really. She couldn't stay hung up on him, and refused to. 

Finally, she reached out and shook his shoulder.  He startled awake and sat up, almost bumping their noses.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Is it early?"

She smiled. "Not really. It's about eight," she said, looking up at the sky.  She got up and dusted off her skirts. "Hop to, then, might as well spend a day in the city before we see the lanterns."

He blinked at her. "What?"

"Were you not expecting that?" Rose asked, furrowing her brows.  

He shook his head. "No, I suppose I forgot that we had a whole... You know, a whole day."

"Yeah, well we do, so we'd better get going. They have these amazing cinnamon buns in the city, we can get those for breakfast."

"I don't have any money," he protested.

She gave him a funny look as she helped him to his feet. "Yeah, me neither, but that's never stopped me before, and it's not gonna stop me now, you hear me?"

He smiled a little at her tone. "Alright, but if we get caught, I'm turning you right in," he said, shaking a finger at her.

She rolled her eyes, "Of course."  

She directed him towards the city, almost ignoring his cheerful behavior. He kept walking ahead of her, and then waiting for her to come back to him when he realized he didn't know where he was going.  Finally, they reached the bridge to the city, and Rose was certain she had never seen a man look happier. He turned over his shoulder to look at her, a beaming expression on his face. 

"That's amazing!" he said. 

"Yeah," She agreed, crossing her arms over her chest and rocking back on her heels. "Let's go, shall we?"

He seemed rather cautious to be walking along the bridge, as though he thought it would collapse on him any minute. Rose went about her business behind him, snatching up her own wanted posters and chucking them over the bridge and into the water below. Hopefully, this would be over fast enough that she would be able to let him have a nice night without her capture.  She was better at running alone, after all.

The city was already decorated for the event, little blue flags with golden suns sported on them hanging everywhere. People were selling flowers and pastries and it looked like the party was already beginning for them.  Rose glanced around.  She'd never been welcome at a party like this, not exactly, so it was interesting to take a look at it from here.

John was still ahead of her, but as he started to walk she noticed that his hair was getting stepped on and he was actually getting physically tugged in a few different directions. She rolled her eyes and ran after him, gathering up all his hair in her arms as he snapped it up from the other end.  They met in the middle and he lifted an apologetic shoulder at her.  She blew a piece of her hair out of her eye in retaliation.

She really didn't want to braid it all again, but it seemed like, with all the people around them, that she was going to have to- oh.

There was a train of girls, right in front of them, braiding each other's hair and giggling.  Within a matter of minutes they'd braided John's hair, grinning happily and dancing around as they did it.  They'd inserted flowers into his hair, which he thanked them for kindly but took them out the moment they'd skipped out of sight. 

She helped him, giggling a little. "Never seen you insecure about your hair," she said, loudly, to be heard over the music playing.

He shrugged, "Always been a bit down about my masculinity, me."

"You wanna cut it?" 

He gave her a hopeless look that told her that he had _asked._ And he had been turned down.  This was a man who had no freedom in his life.  She smiled tightly and patted his face.  "Let's go, then," she said cheerfully. "You've got a city to see!"

The day was spent quite freely, if Rose was honest with herself.  She ducked away from John whenever she saw a guard, but John was always close behind, following her into every crevice and corner that she situated herself in, sometimes laying his hand on her shoulder. 

It was affecting her.  She wasn't sure what it was about this man, his story or his intruige or... Something.  But he was interesting and kind and gentle, but yet his touch was like _fire_ and she had to steady herself every time he touched her.

"Are we safe?" he asked right up against her ear, a little too close for comfort.

She nodded, feeling the back of her head brush up against his nose.  "Yeah, I think so."

"Okay!" 

And all of a sudden, he was like a bouncy puppy again, skipping off to the next adventure, thick braid swinging behind him.  She had to stay in the alcove for another couple of moments to compose herself, but she managed. 

John took her hand when she exited and began tugging her around and looking at all the different little stands and shops.  He had the patience and observation of a forty year old man studying art at a museum, but all the energy of his real age.  It was captivating to watch him, and so much was happening that she wondered if one or both of them would go into sensory overload. 

No one had caught her, not yet, and she felt so _alive._ She wasn't sure she'd ever felt like this before.  

They made their way to the mosaic of the royal family, the King and Queen and their lost son. John stared at it and cocked his head to the side, his hands clasped behind his back.  He stared at it carefully. 

"They made that for the lost Prince," Rose said, laying a hand on his shoulder, "And every year, people lay flowers here," she gestured to the bouquets and single flowers that lay all around the little stoop right under the mosaic.  She'd heard all about that, tried to understand it, but never really could. 

"Do they really think he'll come back?" John asked, curiosity lacing his voice.

Rose nodded. "Yeah.  Been a long time now thought, he'd be... Oh, about your age now, I think," she said off handedly and started to walk away from him.

He watched it for another moment, furrowing his brows.  Something about the baby boy in the picture looked so familiar, but he couldn't place it, and of course, he didn't know anyone besides his brother.   Yet some part of his mind tickled, as though he was trying to remember something that was just out of reach.  He sighed a little to himself, tearing his eyes away from the piece.  After another moment, he shook his head and followed along after Rose. 

When he caught up with Rose, she was near the front of the square, and she was dancing a little bit. He'd never seen her smile like that, never move so freely.  Her hands moved out from her body and soon more dancing broke out, couples taking each other's hands and swinging about freely, cheering and stomping.

Rose fell into the dance that everyone had started, and for a moment, no one cared that she was a criminal.  In fact, no one seemed to notice.  It was like right now, in that moment, everyone was equal and they were all going to dance together no matter what. 

Dance, clap, spin, switch partner, repeat.

John was swept into the dance by an older woman who seemed to have at least six extra feet for all she kept stepping on his, but he couldn't be bothered to mind too terribly.  This was more fun than he could ever remember having, and he had to realize int hat moment that he really _loved_ people. They were not the enemy, as his brother had said.

His eyes drifted to Rose, how her body moved and her cheeks flushed.  He smiled a little to himself.  She was not the enemy.

Rose kept seeming to try to get to him, so he tried to get to her right back, but it seemed over people kept sweeping them up.  Rose laughed and danced with whatever man held her at the time, but John was finding himself to be quite fixated on Rose.  He didn't know why he was so _drawn_ to her, but maybe his brother had been wrong. Maybe she did like him, for more than the satchel he'd hidden.  

Finally, the music crew and grew to a wild crescendo, spinning and whirling and all of it building into one wild explosion of power.  Rose swung right into John's arms and grinned up into his face. 

"Hello," she said happily as he stared at her and started to dance with her.  He'd picked up the steps quite easily after a few dance partners, and she'd been adequate from the start, so she let him lead her, even if he stumbled a couple times. 

"Hello!" He chirped back happily.  

"Having fun?" She asked him.

His responding smile could have put the sun to shame, she was absolutely certain of it.  "Oh, yes," he told her happily.

"I'm glad!"

They danced for a long time, until their feet hurt and they were breathless and hanging off of each other.  Her fingers dug into the fabric at his shoulder and his hand was strong against her waist.  She was quickly falling into him in a way that was disconcerting, but she was so caught up in the moment that she couldn't even find anything wrong with it.

The party lasted and lasted, Rose showing John the stores he'd not seen when they first got there and the town library.  It was the most excited she had seen John. His mouth opened in shock and he breathed out slowly. 

"You like books?" She asked, crossing her arms and leaning her weight onto one hip.  He looked to her and nodded. 

"I didn't get to experience the outside world until you brought me out here," he said, "So, for the first.... Well, for my whole life, really, I lived through books and art," he gestured with his hands. "This is the most incredible thing.  This world that you experience without even leaving a place." He inhaled. "Doesn't that thrill you?"

"I've never thought about reading that way.  Or art," she admitted.  "But I guess you're right."

"Come here," he sat down on the floor with a book.  "Come here," he waved her over.

She sat down next to him as he set a book down.  "And what's this one?"

"History," he whispered, "The most beautiful thing that a human being can be exposed to," he told her, "This brilliant exposition of our past."

She wondered if he even liked reading, or if he had been forced to like it because there wasn't anything else to do.  She scooted a little closer to him, her shoulder nearer to his.  He flipped it open and told her things about their kingdom that she hadn't even known. He was expressive and spoke with his hands and she watched him more than the book.  They went on like that and they poured over books for about three hours before she looked up and saw about what time it was. 

"Oh, John!"

"Yes?" He seemed so caught up in his book that he almost didn't hear her.

"We've got to go get a boat!" She scrambled to her feet and held her hand down for him. "Come on, Tower Boy, time to go see your lanterns."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I expect this to be about 3 or 4 more chapters?
> 
> I also have another AU in the works. I think you guys will like it! :)

John jogged after Rose as she darted down to where all the boats were docked.  "One for the two of us," She said, keeping her face in the shadows.  The guard there nodded, looking bleary eyed, like he hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before, and gestured onward to the boats.  Rose grabbed John's hand and tugged him along.

"They didn't question you?" John asked as she hustled them into the boat.  

"No," She said, "Sometimes they're a bit thick.  We got lucky this time."

John furrowed his brows, picking up the oar Rose handed him. "But where are we going?" He asked her.

She lifted a shoulder, "This is supposed to be the best day of your life, yeah?"

"Yeah," He responded, trying to figure out exactly where she was going with this. 

"Well, then, you might as well have a good seat, right?"

He beamed at her, his whole face lighting up. "Yeah," he said.  "Yeah, you're right."

She knew exactly why she had rushed down here to get a boat. She knew exactly why she was trying so hard to impress him. What she didn't know was how to address it with him in words that normal people could understand.  Then again, he wasn't really a normal person, was he?  Maybe he would  catch on if she just... Hinted.  But maybe not.

"I've never been on a boat before," he said, braking through her thoughts.

She smiled a little. "No, I can't imagine you have,' she told him, "You haven't been much of anywhere."

"Well, that's true," he said.  They floated along, the current from other boats carrying them, and she settled her oar in the bottom of the boat.  He followed her example and then turned around to look out in front of the boat.  He reached down and cupped a flower that was floating in the water. 

She was surprised, to say the least, when he moved towards her and tucked the short stem behind her ear.  He smiled softly and she felt her breath hitch. He touched her cheek as his hand went back to his side.  "You're beautiful," He said softly.

Rose bit her lip and looked away from him, her cheeks flaming. She wasn't sure she'd ever been complimented so genuinely and she wasn't sure quite what to do with it.  Rubbing her arm, like she was cold, she nodded. "Thanks."

They floated along and Rose slid to the floor of the boat to peer over the edge.

"It's so dark." John whispered, settling down next to her.  She was struck again by how muscular he was, all his muscles smooth and lithe.  She looked away from him and blinked hard, trying to figure out exactly what was going on in her brain. 

"You'll see," Rose said, "It's no fun if I tell you how it works, is it?"

"I think it would still be fun," he said, trying not to grumble.  

She smiled a little.  He had fallen silent as time passed, and she cocked her head, resting her elbows on the edge of the boat.  "Hey. Are you alright?"

"I'm terrified," he told her, his voice barely above a whisper.

Rose edged closer to him.  "Why?" She asked.

John lifted a shoulder, not making eye contact with her.  "I've been looking out my window since I was born, staring at the lights.  I was quite enamored with them all, really.  They provided a sense of hope that I hadn't felt.  I'd thought about what it would be like to see them in person." He furrowed his brows, and she watched the shadows of the world around them flicker off of his nose.  "What if they aren't what I expected?"

She nudged him and made him look at her.  "It will be," she promised in a quite voice.  She could tell she'd shattered his thoughts, but not necessarily in a bad way.

"But then, what if it is?" he asked, moving closer to her.  "What will I do with my life after that?"

Rose touched his cheek.  "I think... That's the beauty of it, then.  You know, you get to find a new dream then.  If it _is_ all you expected."

She drew her fingers away from his face and stirred her finger in the water, where he had fetched a flower from.  They gathered them together in the water, making patterns and murmuring to each other about flower placement.  

It was a quiet moment, quieter than Rose could ever remember having.  he was gentle but she knew his hands were strong, and that he was _all man_ underneath all that hair.  She wondered if he wanted to kiss her.  

It took a long time for the events to start, and they were far enough away from the castle that they wouldn't have seen the King and Queen toss up the first lantern.  They sat close together, still stirring the flowers around and whispering, as though they weren't the only people around, aside from the other boats, which were all about ten feet from each other. 

The light started flickering off Rose's face, and John's eyes widened.  He stood up, rocking Rose in the boat and almost tipping them.  She grabbed the sides of the boat and planted her feet, trying to get a look around him.  

He was standing on the bench and leaning on the front of the boat.  Rose sat behind him and found herself in awe of the lanterns as they started to fly up from everyone up on the castle.  She blew out a sigh, watching them with the excitement that she was sure John was feeling. 

 _This_ was what he meant. 

She finally understood.  

She looked at him, able to see his profile, and saw a content smile on his face.  She leaned her elbows on her knees and watched him,feeling something loosen in her chest that she had never felt before.  

The lanterns floated up, lighting the sky around them, lighting _everything._ It was beautiful and Rose had never really seen it in person, as isolated from society as she was, so she was drawn in deeply by it.  

She was drawn in deeply by him, as well. 

She shook herself.  That's right, she had a bit of a surprise for him, and she'd forgotten to bring it out.  She lit the lanterns that she had hidden in the back corner of the boat and held onto them.  She tapped her foot on the bottom of the boat, waiting for him to turn around.  

When he finally turned himself from the lights, he grinned happily at her.  "Oh, that's brilliant," he said, shuffling down in front of her.  She beamed, glad he was pleased. 

He seemed a little conflicted as he sat before her, and he rubbed his hands over his knees. "I have something for you, too," he said, carefully.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "What could you possibly-"

He took out the satchel from behind himself, and she was left wondering where he had even been keeping it.  She felt her jaw drop when she realized he could've had the strap on over his back, under the vest he wore, and his hair would've covered it.

"What?" Rose asked softly.

"I should've given it to you before," he said, "But I suppose I was afraid.  I'm not afraid anymore, though," he said, almost acting like he wasn't sure how to voice his feelings.  "Do you... Do you know what I mean, Rose?"

His eyes were earnest and searching.  She found, with a twist in her gut, that she didn't want the crown any more.  If she was honest, she'd forgotten all about it, forgotten that that was the actual reason she had decided to bring him on this trip.  It all seemed so secondary to anything that she could have ever wanted.  They could run away, she realized, he didn't have to go back to the tower... Did he?  She shifted one of the lanterns, pushing the bag down to the floor of the boat.  "I think I'm starting to understand," She told him, and the responding look of absolute trust and affection quite nearly broke her.  

He took one of the lanterns from her, looking at it like a scientist staring at something that he didn't quite understand.  She had a feeling that he was brilliant, but his energy and talent was untapped. He might be the world's smartest man, but his brother kept him all boxed up, so no one would ever know.  

His eyes were careful and his hands steady.  The both of them pushed up their lanterns at once.  They stared up at them after they let go, until they mixed with the rest of the lanterns and they lost track of them.

Rose laughed, feeling her chest loosen even further. He smiled back at her, his eyes crinkling pleasantly.  Everything mixed together in the sky, almost lighting it without the light of the moon and stars.  Rose wondered what the King and Queen were thinking.  Maybe they had an idea that this was the night they were going to find their son.  She chewed her bottom lip and wondered about that.  For the first time, she hoped they _did_ find him.

She watched him as he lifted up a lantern that had gotten a bit too close to the water.  He was so alive, every move calculated and still yet with the freedom of a man newly released.  She scooted closer to him and laid her hand over his, waiting for him to react.  He turned his hand over and held it in his, moving to take her other one.  He held both her hands carefully, as though he was afraid of breaking her.  His eyes were gentle and she was drawn in almost beyond explanation.  

He reached out carefully with one of his hands, releasing her, and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, behind the flower.  His fingers trailed along down her cheek and rested his fingertips right under her jaw.  She almost let her eyes flutter shut but she couldn't bear to look away from him.  The light from the lanterns glinted off of his eyes, making him look even more expressive. 

They both started to lean in, his hand creeping back up to cup the back of her neck, his thumb over her ear.  She let him take control, found that she even wanted him to do so.  She followed him, watched his eyes flutter shut, and was disgusted to see her thugs over his shoulder.  She stiffened before the kiss ever happened, but John didn't move, like he was waiting for her to be alright.  They were _watching_ her, and once they saw that they had grasped her attention, they disappeared behind a rock, as though beckoning for her to follow.  

She looked back to John.  She should go to them.  She needed to keep him safe, and so she had to... Well, do what she needed to do.  She'd have to tell them that she'd gotten rid of the crown and that she didn't want anything to do with them anymore.

Finally, John deflated, realizing that her focus wasn't on him anymore.  "Is everything alright?" he asked her gently, his accent cutting through her like a knife.

"Yes, of course," she said immediately, probably too fast, actually.  She could tell he didn't really believe her.  Her gaze drifted to the bag next to John.  Maybe she had been wrong.  She didn't want the thugs to beat her up.  They weren't above hitting women and she knew that.  She had just always been on their good side before now.  She nodded again, mostly to herself, as she reached up to cup his cheek.  "Yeah, everything is okay."

He didn't seem to believe her, but he leaned into her touch anyway, making her shiver a little.  She didn't mean to, but it seemed that he was instilling some sort of reaction in her that she couldn't ignore.  Not that she wanted to really.  This was absolutely brilliant.  She'd never felt this way about a man before, even though she'd _dated,_ technically.  This was different.  This was innocent and honest and the most beautiful thing that she could possibly imagine.  And if she kept him close, it would get even better.  She was sure of it.

"Is it all you imagined?" She asked, glancing up at the sky and dropping her hand from his face. 

"Oh yes," he said softly, looking up as well.  "This is _perfect."_

For a precious, blessed moment, she had to think that maybe it was.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lil angsy

The lanterns floated up into the sky and disappeared, and Rose swore she heard music somewhere.  She felt struck by it and was absolutely in love with the idea of the lanterns, in a way she had never been before.

There was still such a happy light in John's eyes that Rose almost forgot what she had to do. She knew her thugs were waiting behind that rock, and she had to leave John here.  So when the lanterns all left the sky, leaving only tiny specs of light behind, she got them back to shore. 

"Thank you," he said, as he helped her row.

She looked up at him, surprised.  "Oh, um, you're welcome."  She smiled a little at him. "I'm happy that you enjoyed it all."

"Well, don't lessen the fact that you got to experience it too," he scolded her.   "You've never seen it."

She nodded.  That was true, at least. She stayed out of the city as often as possible, and the night they looked for the lost Prince was no different.  But this time, she had felt free and alive, no tightness in her chest as she was trying not to be found.  This had been... A good day.  And it had been a very long time since she had had a good day.

They went ashore and she held her hand up to him as she got out of the boat.  "Stay here," she told him carefully.

He looked suspicious, like he knew exactly what she was going to do.  She sighed softly and scratched her forehead, trying to come up with the right words to say.

"I'm sorry," she said, "Everything is fine, really, I just... There's something I have to do first." She picked up the satchel out of the bottom of the boat, holding it by the bottom so that John would hopefully know that she was just about to hand it off. 

He lifted a shoulder, watching her eyes carefully.  He was perceptive and sharp, but she had nothing to hide, so she let him see right into her, through her if he wanted to.  He pursed his lips and nodded slowly.

"Okay," he said, not sounding convinced. 

"I'll be right back," she said, meaning it.  She turned and walked away from him to where the thugs had disappeared.  They were still there, as large and imposing as ever, one of them sharpening something that she couldn't see very well in the dark. She swallowed hard and steeled herself so she could put back on the fake persona she had long since dropped because of John.

"Ah!" She came swinging through the trees, light on her feet.  " _There_ you are!  I have been looking absolutely everywhere for the two of you!  Oh, you both look great!"

Despite her upbeat tone, neither of the men wavered, both staring at her, and she instantly knew she was in trouble.

"I did come here for a reason," She said, "I'm sorry for taking off with the crown. I don't want it." She threw the satchel to the ground and the top opened, the large crown finding its way out and shining gold in the moonlight. With as big as it was, it would have given her a lot of money, too, had she been able to get it somewhere and sell it.  

"Nice working with you both, but I think this is for the best-" As she turned to walk away, back to John, she ran right into one of her thugs, who was staring down at her with his face contorted into a snarl.

"You're holding out on us, Tyler," the one not standing over her, still sharpening what appeared to be a stick.  

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked, furrowing her brow, feeling her temper rising.  "I gave you the crown!"

The thug shook his head. "We heard you found something _better_ than that crown.  More valuable, even," he stood up, his actions kicking the crown across the stones on the ground, the metal clang of it resonating deeply in Rose's ears.  She was still confused.

"We want him," the other thug said, "Instead."

Rose shook her head. "No, I- what?"

"We met his precious brother," The thug who had been standing over her took a step back and rubbed his fingers together, as though rubbing a coin.  "His hair, Rose."

Rose felt her eyes widen. "His brother knows he's out here."

"Yes, he does, and he's not very happy," One of the thugs scolded. 

Rose swallowed.  "Well, he doesn't _own_ his brother, so the lot of you can hop off I think."  She crossed her arms. "Now, look, I gave you your crown back, so you can all get out of here."

The thug that stood over her cocked an eyebrow. "You've unlocked the fountain of youth, Rose," He said darkly. "And we _want_ it."

"He's a person!" Rose nearly shouted.  "You can't just take a person. We take things, we _took_ things.  He is a person with a brain and a heart," she glared at them. "Which is honestly a bit more than I can say for the two of you."

"Oh," The other thug crossed his arms. "You found yourself a little boyfriend, Rose?"

Rose blushed without meaning too, but she still held herself strong.  "He's not my boyfriend. He's better than that and _you_ are not going to take him."

One thug sniffed and shook his head. "I think you should think again." He swung for her head and Rose caught his wrist, fighting off with what little strength she had, as they were easily head and shoulders over her.  She fought back valiantly until one of them saw fit to end the game.  She was picked up and thrown back to the ground, her head bouncing off the rocky terrain, making her lose consciousness.

***

John felt that he had been waiting a rather long time for Rose to return.  He hadn't doubted her until she had picked the bag up and took it with her.  He was about to go after her, to be assertive for maybe the second time in his life.  He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit uncomfortable. 

She wouldn't _do_ that to him, would she?  things had been going so well.  He had... He had wanted to kiss her, and he had been so close, but she had tensed up. So he stopped, allowed her to make the move, and when she didn't, well, he only felt a bit rejected.  But she had held his hand and let him get close.  That had to mean something, no matter what his brother had said and no matter what this was.  

He had never really known what it meant to feel something for someone.  He did though, feel something for Rose.  She was kinder than she let on, and he had watched the walls she built around herself crumble.  He was afraid that he was very close to loving her. 

He watched the way she had left.  She wouldn't do this to him now, would she?  Not after all the things they had been through, this adventure they'd had.  He stood up and got out of the boat, determined to follow her, when two rather gigantic men came back out from the bushes.  

"Where's Rose?" He asked darkly, feeling an anger that he had never felt before. 

"Gone," one of the men crossed his arms and John had a feeling that this was not going to end well for him.  His heart dropped as he heard the word and he suddenly felt lost.  What was he supposed to do now? 

"What? No.  How is she gone?"

"Took the crown and headed off, pretty boy," the other man said, "It's that simple! Gone, just like that!"

"She wouldn't," John protested weakly, though now, he wasn't really sure anymore.  He wasn't sure who to believe, or what to think. he had never been put in a situation like this before and his mind was whirring with how to deal with it all.  These men sounded so sure, and there wasn't any blood or anything on them. They hadn't killed her, but-

"See for yourself," one of the men interrupted his thoughts and gestured towards the water.  John looked over, feeling as though he was being drawn to it by a magnet.

In the shadows, he could make out the form of a boat, with Rose standing at the wheel, commanding the ship.  He felt like collapsing.  So his brother had been right after all.  She had just wanted the crown, she hadn't wanted anything to do with him.  He was just a pawn, and he'd let her play him because she was beautiful and kind to him.

He didn't feel angry though, only betrayed.  He stared out after the boat.  He meant to call out for her, perhaps to convince her to come back, but instead all that came out was a whispered "Rose."

"A fair trade, really," said one of the men as they circled him.  "A crown for the man with the magic hair."

John felt his eyes widen. She really had betrayed him.  She'd put him in danger when she said she would _help_ him.  

"How much do you think someone would pay to stay young and healthy forever?" One of them asked conversationally.

John whipped around, setting a firm glare on them. "No!" he shouted, "Don't!"   He took off, trying to get away.  He was able to keep ahead of them for much longer than he expected to, as they were larger than him and weighed down by the extra weight they held.  He was able to go quickly without them catching him, and was far ahead of them, before getting his hair, still braided, caught on a log.  

"No," he mumbled to himself, tugging at it almost violently.  He heard the sounds of two people hit the ground and stopped, waiting patiently.  

"John?" He heard his brother cry out and John felt his jaw drop.  That couldn't be right.  He hadn't... He wouldn't come back, not after the things they'd said. 

It would appear that John was wrong, as his brother looped the corner.  He looked worried beyond belief and John dropped his protective stance, not knowing quite what to do with himself. 

"Brother?" He murmured under his breath, almost not daring to believe it.  His brother was holding a large stick and looked as though he had knocked out the thugs.  John came back the way he'd come and stood before his brother.  

The Master grabbed John into a hug, patting his back. He backed up and looked John over. "Well, you're not injured, that's good," he nodded, almost to himself, "Are you alright?"

John nodded, "Yes, but wait, how did you-"

"I was so _worried,"_ The Master gestured grandly.  "I was so worried that I followed you, and I saw those men attack you.  Let's just get out of here before they come to, alright?" He started walking away, but John felt frozen, like he was just creeping along slowly through time, and the Master was going at top speed. 

He looked back at the boat as the Master took off, feeling a wave of sadness pass over him.  This had been his once chance, and it had been ruined.  All of it, in one swift motion, drowned in the river he had just floated upon.  He felt close to tears, but he swallowed them down, not wanting his brother to see him cry.  He turned and saw him, holding a lantern and waiting for him to follow. 

There was no choice now, between Rose and his brother. Because Rose had abandoned him.  He blew out a sigh and started to follow after him.  He finally brought up the courage to speak when his brother raised his eyebrows, waiting for a response.  One, John supposed with a heavy heart, that he deserved.

"You were right," John admitted, his voice hoarse, his hands clenched at his sides. "I just... You were right."

John expected his brother to smile and goad him, telling him that he was a fool. He was surprised when the Master merely nodded and said, "I know John.  I know."

He glanced over his shoulder once more as he followed his brother into the woods, watching the boat Rose was piloting disappear into the night.  Well, he thought to himself, it really had been a good night.

The perfect night. 

But that night was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am... SO sorry that I haven't posted on this for so long. I'm really sorry!!! I hope you guys enjoy it anyway!

Rose awoke when her boat crashed into something.  She felt her head jerk up before she even realized she was doing it and looked down at herself.  She was tied to the wheel of a boat, which had been moving forward.  The crown, which she had been trying so hard to give up, was tied to her hand.  

"No!" She whispered to herself and tugged at the ropes covering her wrists. She winced at the pain that shot through her.  She looked around, wondering if John had been captured with her.  No luck. He was gone.

"John?" She called, looking around over the water, her eyes blown wide.  "John!"

It was at that moment, with guards jumping into the boat with her, that she realized exactly where she was.  She'd wrecked back into the city, and this time, the guards had found her.  Or they'd been looking for her to begin with and she'd just brought attention to herself.  She swallowed hard but didn't stop fighting as they untied her and dragged her to shore.

"I have to find John!" She shouted, tugging on the guards. "I have to find him!"

They ignored her, not even bothering to speak to her as they dragged her up some steps and around to head towards the jail.  She was kicking up so much of a fuss that she hoped someone who actually liked her would come to her rescue.

No such luck.  She felt tears building in her eyes as she wrenched against the two guards.  One of them dug his fingers into her arm to stop her, and she could practically feel her skin bruising.

"You don't understand!" She tried to tell them, tugging and stumbling over herself.  "You don't understand!  I need him, I need to find him!"

"Tyler, we don't know who this 'John' is," the guard on her left said, "And we also don't know that you're not lying, so you might as well just shut up and come along with us, got it?"

Rose broke down into tears, feeling helpless and useless.  She should've just dropped the crown on shore and took off with John, back to the mainland. This could've all been over by now.  And he wouldn't last a day on his own.

She couldn't even think of places he could have gone or he would have been.  She dropped a few times, not being able to see where she was going through her tears and due to the darkness.  She cried out and tried to fight back still, but the guards on her were calm and much larger than her, giving them two advantages over her.  

But, of course, she'd done this to herself. Why wouldn't they think she was lying?  She'd never told the truth before, and there was no evidence that she would start now.  So she felt herself give in and let them lead her along, her cries gentling to hiccups. 

He deserved better than her anyway.

****

Once she was put in her cell, she couldn't seem to stop pacing. She went across her cell all night, feeling like she was probably wearing a hole in at least one of her boots.  She couldn't bring herself to care. They still had to read the accusations against her, and no one had done that yet. She had no idea how long she was going to be there.

At the break of dawn, her door swung open, and she looked at the guards that were there.  Three different guards from the night before, but still, they didn't think one could handle her.  She watched them, not trying to escape. She just wanted to know what was happening.

"Let's get this over with, shall we?" the guard at the front asked.  As he stepped into the light, Rose noticed, with a sinking heart, that it was the Captain of the Guard.

She cleared her throat and tilted her chin, wanting to appear strong. "Where are we going?" She asked, any usual lip or sass drained from her in her exhaustion and, quite frankly, she had given up.  

The guards didn't say anything, but one of the guards behind the captain smiled cruelly and she knew exactly what they were planning.  There didn't need to be proof that she had done anything, because everyone already _knew._ And based on the looks on their faces, they were going to hang her.

She felt her heart pounding wildly against her chest, as though it was trying to escape in a way that she wished she could.  She felt her hand reaching up to her neck as she realized exactly what would be happening.  

"Oh," she whispered.

******

Now, on the other hand, that morning the Master stood over John, towering like the absolute ruler he thought himself to be.  He had his arms crossed and was watching John carefully, as though expecting him to bolt.

"Well, once you unbraid your hair, you can pretend none of this ever happened," he said casually.

John wanted to protest.  He didn't want to forget Rose, or the floating lanterns. He didn't _want_ to forget the city or anything that happened there.  All he wanted was to go back and try to fix it all.  But instead, he said nothing, his shoulder slumped as he sat on the edge of his bed, his eyes downcast.

"Well, you'd better freshen up for dinner," the Master said, heading towards the door, "I'm making your favorite."

He stood at the door when John still didn't say anything, and he sighed, sounding annoyed. "I really did try, John, I tried to warn you what was out there.  The world is dark, and selfish, and cruel, and if the slightest ray of sunshine escapes into it, it's destroyed."  

Silence fell heavily over the room and after several moments of John not answering, the Master left, not trying to comfort him at all.  Although, John wasn't sure he wanted to be comforted.  he tried to think about what he might want.  He wasn't sure.  He wanted Rose, even still, but that was an impossibility now. She had made her choice.  

He looked down at his hands.  It would do him no good to dwell on it, even though that was exactly what he wanted to do.  The little flag that he had received from the festival lay over his palms.  The blue of it was subdued in comparison to the glow of the golden sun in the middle of it. He furrowed his brows at it.  It looked familiar somehow.

Blowing out a sigh, he lay back on his bed, legs dangling off the edge and his arms sprawled out away from his body.  He didn't know what to think, not really.  He looked up at the ceiling and stared at the drawings and paintings he had created there.  He furrowed his brow and looked at the flag again.

Huh.

That's familiar. 

_Familiar._

He looked up at the paintings again.  It was plain to see now, what he had been hiding from himself the whole time.  His heart pounded heavily in his chest as he realized exactly what he was looking at.  He scrambled to his feet and looked around his room, and he saw, for the first time, the image of the golden sun popping out at him.  He'd never noticed it before, all the correlations, but they all came forward to him, and he felt his mouth hanging open.  This was what he had spent his whole life searching for. This was the key to his past, why he had wanted to see the lanterns.

After a few moments, he felt overwhelmed, and memories of the King and Queen, the people in the mosaic, made him feel weak at the knees.  He had a family.  A mother and a father.  He was the lost prince that everyone had been searching for for so long.  

He felt a sudden wave of anger. If he was the prince, why was he here with his brother?  And why did that _brother_ say that their parents were dead when they were so obviously not?  Was the Master even his brother?

The power of his thoughts crushed him down and he fell back against his desk, the chair tumbling to the side.  He pressed his hand to his forehead, feeling the cold sweat that had broken over his skin.  

There was only a moment of hesitation before he heard the Master cry out, "John? John, are you alright?"

He didn't reply, couldn't.  His breathing was heavy as he tugged himself back to his feet, standing, perhaps, a bit taller than before.  He was a prince.  He didn't know why he felt a whole lot of anger encompassing him, but it devoured him and he found he wanted to deck his brother squarely in the jaw.

"John?" The Master's voice sounded more frantic.  "What's going on in there?  Are you alright?"

Feeling a wave of courage, he walked out of his room and stood at the top of the steps, staring down at the Master.  The other man's face was filled with shock at John's stance and his fists clenched at his sides.  

John stood still for a moment, not knowing what to do, only knowing that he had to say something. He felt pressure in his chest, like he had been holding something back for a very long time.  

"I'm the lost prince," he whispered, vocalizing what he now knew to be true.

"John, you really shouldn't mumble like that, it's really unbecoming, and-"

"I'm the lost prince," he said louder, meeting his brother's eyes.  He narrowed his gaze.  "Aren't I?"

The responding look on the Master's face was one of fear and shock.  It was the last thing he had expected, for John to find out the secret that he had been hiding from him for his whole life.  He swallowed, not sure how he was going to get out of this one.

"Did I mumble, _brother?"_ John snarled, his voice filled with disdain.  "Or should I even call you that?"

John had never been brought to his full aggressive potential, being as he had always been brought up to be meek and follow along in his brother's footsteps.  Now, though, he was angrier now than he had ever been, and he was bigger than the Master.  

Within a moment, the Master's face smoothed over and he smiled, as though nothing had happened at all.  "Oh, John, do you even hear yourself?  You're being ridiculous.  Why would you ever ask a question like that?" He started to come up the stairs but halted when John shouted.

"It was you!" He cried out, "It was all you!"

"Everything I did was to protect you!" The Master shot back, his own eyes flaming.

John pushed past his brother and started down the stairs. "I've spent my whole life trying to hide in here from people who were going to take advantage of me." He turned around when he hit the bottom of the stairs and pointed at the Master.  "When really, all this time, I should've been hiding from you!"

"And where will you go?  She won't be there for you, your little slag!"

"What did you do to her?" John screamed, feeling protective and threatened by the Master's words about her.

"That criminal?" The Master laughed, a wicked sound that made a horrible, painful chill run down his spine.  "She's to be _hanged_ for all of her crimes."

"No!" John took a step back, feeling his heart turn to stone in his chest. Not Rose, _not_ Rose.  

"Now, now, listen to me," the Master descended the stairs until he was eye level with John.  "Everything is as it should be."

"No."

The Master blinked. Even with all the attitude that John had been putting forth, he had thought that he would fall back in line pretty quickly. This was not what he had been expecting.

"You were wrong about the world, and you were wrong about me," John said earnestly, "And I am not going to let you use my hair for your own selfish purposes again!" 

The Master stumbled back as John advanced as though he was about to hit him. He fell back into a mirror and got to his feet as John started to walk away from him. 

"You want me to the be bad guy?" He growled under his breath, stepping on a piece of broken glass. "Have it your way.  Now I'm the bad guy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review?


	12. Chapter 12

Rose thought that she had never felt more discouraged. She had gotten herself out of many difficult situations, but this was not one of them.  Difficult and impossible were two different things, and she was wise enough to know the difference.   _This_ was impossible.

The guards seemed to know that she knew that, too.  Their grips on her arms were loose and she let her head hang forward as she walked.  Her hands were shackled together behind her and she had a feeling that it was more of a formality.  After all, she wasn't going anywhere. 

There was no fight left in her.  Rose Tyler really had nothing to live for.  She had no family, no friends, her thugs had deserted her, and John... She didn't know if John would ever speak to her again, if given the chance.  He was probably furious with her, probably thought that she had left him. She wanted to cry out, tell him _yes,_ she had used him in the beginning, but not now, never now.  Now she just wanted him to be happy, and she hoped he was safe.

She knew what the thugs had been planning with him, and she didn't want to think about it.  In her own deluded mind, he was probably back at the tower, now, with his brother, who was probably scolding him for running off with a thief.  She chewed her bottom lip. In a way, she had wished that she could save him from him brother, even though she obviously didn't know if he wanted _saving._ He deserved a life though, either way, outside the walls of his room.

Unfortunately, hers was about to come to an end.

It was seeing her thugs that did it.  They had been captured too, and she felt a powerful anger burn in her. They had been planning to take him.  It was unfair, and she was about to tell them so. 

She threw her shoulder into one of the men next to her. He had been holding her so loosely that he simply toppled over, hitting his head on one of the metal bars.  Just as the other guard was about to tighten his grip, she threw him down too.  In one smooth movement, she jumped over the chains so her hands were in front of her and ran to the cell the thugs were held in.  She grabbed one of them by the collar and pulled him up against the bars.  

"How did you know about him?" She shouted. "Tell me!  Right now! Who told you about him?"

The thug quivered beneath her hands, realizing he had never unlocked Rose's full potential of anger.  She was violent, tugging him again so he was forced to look at her. 

"It wasn't us, it was that man!"  He said, sounding earnest. 

"What man?" Rose demanded.

"The man!  Blond, I dunno!  He told us all about his brother's powers and-"

"Oh, my God!"  Rose shrieked.  It was his brother all along, selling him out, making him nothing more than a piece of property. Guards descended on her, making her break away from the cell.  She cried out, anger swimming, red hot in her mind.  

"Wait, no!" She pushed and kicked against them, but they were ready for her now, and larger, and stronger.  "You don't understand!  He's in trouble!" She knew her eyes were blown wide with panic, dilated as she took in everything around herself. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears and her breath coming unsteadily.  "Wait!"

Of course, they did not wait, still dragging her along like she was a bag full of garbage.   She felt her brain whirring, trying to figure out some way out.  His brother was going to hurt him, she was sure of it.  he would defend himself, but she wasn't confident that he would win.  

She wasn't sure that she could protect him, either, but she was overcome with the need to at least try.  She had to fight for him. for his freedom, because he really did deserve it.  Now that she knew him, and what he had gone through, she just wanted him to be happy. That was all. He deserved to be happy.

Rose had given up hope, which was unlike her, but she was headed for a noose with her name on it.  She had never felt more guilty for the things she had done. She wasted the time she'd had with John, and now he was in trouble. She couldn't help but partially blame herself.

And then, something quite extraordinary happened.

The men from the bar, The Snugly Duckling, with felt like a thousand years ago, crashed through the windows of the jail. Rose cried out and watched as the men, big and burly, grabbed the guards off of her.

"How did you-" she started.

"We look out for you, Rose!"  One of them said happily, holding his hook to the guard's neck.

Rose laughed, "You also tried to turn me in!" She said.

The men all looked at each other and seemed to be a little sheepish.  One of them, the one that had wanted to find true love, stood forward. 

"I think we all realized what you and the boy from the tower were becoming before you did," he said, "I think you deserve a second chance.  We have men waiting outside to take you back to safety.  You may need to hide for a little bit though," he smiled happily.

Rose felt her heart swell with happiness.  She smiled, and laughed.  She couldn't help it, it just bubbled up in her chest and she had to release it. 

"Thank you," she said earnestly.  She walked forwards and kissed the boy on the cheek.  "Thank all of you!"

One of the men holding the Captain of the Guard, who was still struggling violently, looked over his shoulder.  "You'd better go, Tyler!"

She took off, not wanting to look back. She didn't know quite where she was going but the boy followed her and took her by the arm, showing her how to get out.  She felt warm in her chest, like she was actually going to accomplish something this time. Her life wasn't going to waste.  She wasn't going to let it.  She was meant for something, and it wasn't to be hung.  

It was only in that moment that she actually gave up crime in her mind. Her past wasn't a reason to be petty and ruin other people's lives.  She looked at the boy next to her, who gestured to the men outside the building.  "Go!  It'll be fine, now!"

She had a feeling he was near hysteria with how much this was exciting him. He was a rather skinny bloke, really, and small, but there was someone for everyone, Rose supposed.  She thanked him again and tore out of the prison, all the way out to the path over the water. She had to duck into an alleyway once she made it out, and she could still hear the cries of battle, and she shivered.  She hoped she wasn't causing these men to lose their lives fighting for her, because she wasn't sure that she deserved that.

After several minutes of catching her breath, she set off at a sprint, skirts hitched up around her thighs as she tore through the streets towards John's tower.  She didn't know how much time she had left, or if she had any time left at all, but she knew she had to try.  It was worth it.  He was worth it.  

Her heart pounded violently in her ears and she wasn't even sure how she remembered how to get to his tower.  but she knew, and she pushed back the vines and looked up at the tower. Oh, this was it.  

"John!" She shouted, hoping he would just come to the window and look down at her, and smile that winning smile.  In her biggest fantasies he smiled at her, an instant forgiveness passed to her through the air between them.

When he didn't come out she felt her heart rate ratchet up. Fear thundered through her and she screamed out, "John!"

Nothing happened.  She clenched her fists at her sides and looked back up, trying not to tlet her emotions get the better of her.

"John, let down your hair for me!" She shouted, feeling an itch in her legs as she felt the urge to tear towards the tower even closer. 

To her complete relief, his brown hair shot out of the window and fell all the way to the ground.  A whoosh of breath rushed out of her and she ran for it, wrapping parts of it around her hand so she could get her bearings.  Her skirts got caught multiple times, but she didn't let it hinder her.  She let herself get caught up and used her arm strength, pushing her feet off the brick to get higher. 

"John," she breathed as she caught the wall, "I thought that I'd never see you again!"

What she saw below her made her feel sick to her stomach.  He was slumped against the wall, his hands tied behind him, his mouth gagged, and a trickle of blood dripping from his forehead.  He was passed out, telling Rose that he had not gone down without a fight.  Before she could even think, she tumbled through the window and started heading right towards him.

She was about to bend over him to check his vitals when she felt the thud of him being kicked in the boot.  Before she had time to think about the face that she wasn't sure that she was the one that kicked him,  he jerked awake and his eyes widened when he saw her.  he shook his head and started tugging on his bonds, but he wasn't trying to get away from her.  It was like he was trying to get to her, and she couldn't understand.

It was then that the sharp tang of metal connected with her skin, a shard of something driving into her waist. She cried out in pain, grabbing at it, and felt a hand there.  

"No," she murmured to herself, eyes clenched shut in pain.  The sharp object was pulled form her side and she tumbled to her knees, clutching her affected side.  She wept openly at it, having never felt pain like this before.  She always escaped things before she got hurt, but not this time.  She looked up at John, who was writhing to get to her, but she saw now that he was chained to the wall.

"Now look what you've done, John," the Master said down to Rose, dropping the mirror shard that he had stabbed her with.  "Oh, don't worry, our secret will die with her."  He walked to John and started to unchain him from the wall, where he was still straining and fighting to get away, "And as for us!" He said cheerful, grabbing the chain and yanking John back as he fought to get to Rose, "You and I are going where no bloody soul is ever going to find you again!"  

Still he fought, but Rose's vision was blurring, and she couldn't see him very well.  She started to shift towards him and collapsed when her vision blurred with pain.  She pressed her cheek to the cold floor and tried to focus in on him.

"Oh, really, John, this is ridiculous!  Stop fighting me!"  The Master was saying, and Rose felt her heart soar when she saw him wrench his head so that the gag slipped from his mouth.

"No," he said firmly, "I will never stop trying to get away from you.  I can promise you that. Not after all this that you've done.  But, if you let me save her, I'll come with you.  I will."

Rose wanted to go to him so bad.  She could feel him aching from here, wanting to save her, but afraid that his brother wouldn't let him.  The Master seemed to consider, and a cruel smile crawled across his face.  

No, she couldn't let him do this. S he couldn't let him waste his life for her. "No, John," she gasped out, knowing her voice was breathy and unstable but really quite unable to help it.

"Okay, fine, I'll never run away, I'll never try to escape, but _please,_ just let me heal her."  John had stopped tugging on the chains, but the tension rippling through his body was almost palpable.  "And then everything will be like it was, right?  Please."

The Master said nothing and John grew irritated. "Just let me heal her," he said slowly, through gritted teeth, trying to control himself.

Finally, after an achingly long moment where Rose tried again to tell John no, the Master's lip curled into a snarl.  

"Fine."

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm fairly certain the next chapter will be final chapter/epilogue
> 
> I've already been working on my next AU, and while it's a theme I've done before in general, it's quite different, and I think you guys will like it:)

Within minutes Rose was chained to the wall by the Master, who was probably a little rougher with her then he needed to be. He dropped her hand roughly to her side, her other hand covering her wound.

"That's just in case you get any stupid little ideas about following us," he said, crossing his arms and standing back, watching as a newly released John scuttled forwards towards her, falling over himself a little to catch up to her. He settled next to her and his hands fluttered over her.

"Oh, Rose, _Rose,"_ he said, his voice panicked. He reached forward and cupped her face, tilting her head so he could look into her eyes. She groaned in pain and shifted against the pillar that she had been settled against. Her eyes squeezed shut and he stroked his thumb over the apple of her cheek, trying to keep her aware and with him.

He reached down and pulled back her vest, looking at the blood staining her. He winced. "Oh," he said softly, "Oh, I'm so sorry," he felt like he could cry, but he couldn't do that to her, not when she was dying right before him and he could stop it. He _would_ stop it. "Everything is going to be alright, Rose," he said, reaching for part of his hair to wrap around her waist so he could heal her.

She pushed his hands away from her. "No," she gurgled around the word, having trouble.

He furrowed his brows in confusion, and pushed his hair towards her again. "Please, Rose, you have to trust me."

She forced her eyes open and pushed at him again, tilting her head back and breathing heavily, struggling. "John, stop," she breathed, "I can't let you... Do this..."

He cupped her cheek again. "Rose," he whispered, feeling the tears coming up at her pain, despite himself. "I can't let you die."

It was something that shook her to her very core even as she moaned in pain. He didn't want her to die. Even though she had betrayed his trust, in his eyes at least, he was still willing to help her, to _save_ her, and possibly even wanted to. What did that mean?

Not that it mattered, because she couldn't let him do this. "But if you do this..." She said, finding it more difficult to speak now, "Then you... Will die." She touched his cheek, but couldn't hold her hand there for very long. She dropped it back to her side and whimpered as she felt a spark of pain.

"Hey, no, Rose look at me," he said desperately, "It's going to be alright, okay? We're going to be alright."

She had an idea, a blinding flash, and it was enough. She had to hold onto it and try to save him before he could save her. It would be a bit deceitful, and a bit cruel, but she could only hope that he would learn to thank her in the end. 

"John," she said gently, forcing his name from her lips. "Wait."

She reached her hand up to the back of his neck, and she had an idea that John thought she was going to kiss him. Oh, she thought to herself, if only it was that simple. If _only_ it could just be a kiss. Her free hand scrambled for the object she was searching for, and she locked her fingers around it, not wanting to let it slip from her grip.

He touched her cheek again, fingers gently cupping her ear. His gaze fell, even as tears started to brim over his bottom lashes. She hoped he wouldn't think about crying for very long. She was about to give this man a beautiful taste of freedom.

She leaned up towards him with ever piece of strength left in her, and at the very last moment, brought the mirror shard up that she had been holding. She cut his hair all the way up over his head, but her lack of dexterity made it short, very short, in the back, and the top fell in a flop of fringe over his forehead.  He gasped and raised his hand to his head, feeling tricked and panicked.  How could she do that?

The hair on the floor around them turned even darker than it had been originally and he reached down to gather up a piece of his hair, which was quickly turning the near black color the rest of his hair now was.

"Rose," he choked out, trying in vain to salvage some of it so he could save her. Somewhere, in the deep distance, she heard the Master cry out "No!" but she couldn't be bothered to care. She fell back against the pillar and felt her heart pounding almost painfully in her chest. He was safe, that was all that mattered.

She was able to note, in a moment of clarity, that he looked _bloody_ good with his hair like that.

He wasn't quite crying, but he almost was, his attention back on her, but he didn't' seen to know where he should put his hands.

Then something rather extraordinary started to happen to the Master.

"Do you know what you've _done?!"_ he shrieked, trying to scoop up the lighter parts of John's hair. It was in vain though, and he started to shrivel up and grow old at a rapid pace, as though his body was on fast forward.

"No, no!" He peered in the shattered remains of the window and screamed, touching the sides of his face, now as wrinkled and shriveled up as the skin of his cheeks and the rest of his body. His back was hunched and he looked like an old hobbit.

He tugged his cloak around himself, crying out and thrashing as though in pain. "What have you done?" He cried out again, seeming disoriented and crazed. He stumbled towards John, but missed by and inch and instead fell out the window John had stared out for eighteen years. Rose distantly heard his cries as he tumbled to his death.

She breathed out a sigh of relief. He was safe. John was perfectly safe, and she had lived to see it happen. Although, the way things were going, she wasn't sure that she was going to be living for much longer, here. She sighed and fell back, feeling the heat of his skin next to her.

He seemed confused and dazed, not knowing which way to turn. On one hand, the man who had raised him just crashed to his death, but Rose was the future now, and really, after all this, she was all he had left.

She groaned in pain and he fell towards her, cupping her cheek and trying to keep her with him.

"Rose," he managed.  "No, no, no, no," his voice almost lost coherency as he struggled to figure out what to do to keep her safe, bring her back.  He didn't have his hair now, nothing to save her with.  He grabbed at it with one hand, frustrated at the short strands,  not having any time to think about his new found freedom.

"Rose?" He said softly, gathering her up to him, her upper body in his lap.  She turned to his touch and whimpered in pain, her eyes still squeezed shut.  

She coughed, swimming out of consciousness, and he turned her face to his.

"No, Rose, look at me," he said desperately.  "I'm right here.  Don't leave me, Rose, stay with me, please!"

He grabbed her hand and threaded her fingers through the remains of the hair on his head, hoping against hope that it had some sort of power left in it still.  He squeezed his eyes closed and tried to think hard of the sun, to conjure it up to bring to her. 

"John, hey," Rose tried to pull her hand from his hair, and he clenched her wrist tighter, as though afraid to let go of her.  

He looked down at her, eyes now brimming with tears, not that he could help it.  He dragged her hand down so that his cheek was pressed into her palm.  Her eyelids fluttered open at him, and she smiled softly, her lips quivering as she fought to keep herself steady. 

"John," She whispered.

"Rose," he moved ever closer to her.  

"You know how..." She fought to get her words out, "Those lanterns were your dream?"

He nodded, and then realized she might not be seeing him clearly. "Yes, Rose, I know."

Her own eyes brimmed with tears and she grimaced.  "You were mine."

"Oh, Rose," he bent and pressed his forehead to hers. "You became mine, too."

She let out a deep shuddering breath, and breathed no more.

John's face scrunched up in pain. When he was young, his brother had always told him to think of the sun when he was sad, and out of reflex, it came crashing in, like a wave, the muscle memory to do so.  

After many moments of sitting with her in his lap, a wave of shock crashed over him and a single tear slipped from his eye, dropping to the waxen skin of her cheek.  John's eyes were now squeezed shut, so he didn't see the little burst of gold that lit Rose's cheek.  

And it began to curl out from there, licking up to the side of her nose and down to the cupid's bow of her mouth.

The light brought John back, and he opened his eyes, staring in disbelief at Rose, who was now glowing with the stuff from the wound in her side.  He kept a hand cupped behind her head but lifted the other to touch the golden dust that was floating off of her.  It didn't feel real, couldn't be.  This _couldn't be._

But it was, and he watched in awe as the golden mist shimmered and curled up towards the sky above their heads.  He felt as though it would never come down, and yet, nothing was happening to Rose.

It became intense, branching out and touching tendrils to tendrils, shooting out from each other or becoming one.  It was not what he had learned to classify as the normal response from his hair.  Perhaps, he thought, true emotion was stronger.  

Finally, in a grand finale of sorts, the gold turned to white and all seemed to be sucked back in to the wound in Rose's side.  He touched the spot, wondering if the wound was still there but being too afraid to look.

Instead, he leaned closer to her, staring at her face expectantly, waiting for movement.  Any quivering of eyelids or shift of fingers would be welcome, and he awaited it eagerly.  His heart almost ceased beating with the nervousness of what he felt.

Her eyebrows twitched and her eyes slowly opened into his, and she smiled softly. "John," she whispered, seeming to struggle only slightly.

"Rose," he replied on a relieved breath, unable to comprehend what was happening around them. 

She lifted a shaky hand and shoved her fingers into the fringe that had fallen across his forehead.  She laughed breathily, more of a wheeze than anything else, really, and she said, "I think I like your hair better like this."

He laughed, because there was nothing else for it, and she sat up right into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck.  He gripped her back, squeezing his eyes shut once more as he pushed his nose into the side of her neck, feeling the warmth of her skin and the beat of her pulse.  No, his hair had not been magic. _This,_ Rose Tyler, was magic. 

She pulled back from him and stared disbelievingly into his eyes.  And quite suddenly, she took him by the front of the jacket and kissed him.  

He wasn't quite sure where to put his hands at first, but he settled on her waist, tugging her closer as she kissed him with infinite gentleness.  He curled his fingers into her dress and hers found their way into his hair, and for the first time in their lives, all seemed right with the world.

After several blissful moments, she pulled away and laid her head on his shoulder. "I love you," she whispered. 

He closed his eyes.  He had never thought he would be able to feel love, but this... With her...

This was it.

"I love you, too."


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the final chapter!!!!!!!!!!!! I had so much fun writing this and I took it a little further than the movie did just because I needed some more fluff 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and thank you for all the love!

They sat in each other's company for a few minutes, not sure what to do now.  It was so quiet.  She reached out and hugged him again, holding him close, her fingers buried in his now short hair.  

He pressed his face into her neck and breathed out slowly, his hands wrapped around her waist.  He kissed her cheek as he pulled back, and she could feel his heart rate slowing down.  He trailed his fingers along her jawbone.  "What should we do?" he whispered.

"You're the lost prince," she replied. It sounded like a question, almost, but they both knew that it wasn't.  

He nodded. "Yeah," he said, "I'm the lost prince."

"Then I know what we need to do!" She got to her feet, ignoring his whine of annoyance, and tugged on some of the hair that was still on the floor. "We're going to use this to get out of this bloody tower and we're gonna go meet that parents.  Got it?"

"They'll capture you," He said, standing up and walking to her, confused and afraid.  "I know they will, they've been after you."

"No, they won't," she replied, smiling.  "Come on, now, this is still viable to hang from, let's go." 

He hesitated, but followed her, and down they went, a bit awkwardly since the hair wasn't attached to him any more.  It felt almost like sliding down a corpse in John's mind.  For so long, it had been almost alive, serving a purpose for him and for the Master, and now... Now it was nothing. He stared up at the tower as they dropped to the ground, and Rose tugged his arm.

"Hey," she said softly, "It's okay."

"I'm not coming back," He said. 

She leaned her head on his shoulder and stroked his arm, hoping to comfort him. "Do you... Do you think there's anything in there you'll miss?  Books or anything?  We could get them."

He shook his head, almost violently. "No," he said, "I can't...  Everything in there is a memory of a life that wasn't even my own.  I didn't live that life, didn't really... I was a servant. I was a servant to him, even though he said he was my brother."  He ran his hand through his hair, enjoying the sensation as it fell back over his forehead.  "I've got all those books memorized because it was all I had.  I painted because there was nothing else to do."  

Slowly, he reached his hand down and took hers, lacing their fingers together, before tugging her away from the tower. "I'm done with this place," he told her, "I'm done with it all."

She popped up and kissed his cheek as they walked and they carried on.  They had to walk all the way back to town, all the way to the castle.  The guards started to come for her and John shielded her. 

"No!" he shouted.  "Let me come in.  I have something, I-"

"Oh my God," one of the guards said. "You look just like the King."

"Yeah, that's why I'm here," John said, clutching Rose tighter to him. "Please let us in."

The guards exchanged a few looks, and Rose gulped before one of them said, "No, the criminal comes with us."

"The criminal is with me," John said, "I've been locked in a tower for my whole life and I think I might be the lost prince.  My hair used to be lighter but this one," he squeezed Rose's shoulder, "Cut it to save me from the man who kidnapped me.  It darkened.  But I look like the King, I saw a mosaic of... Our family.  Please let me see them."

"We will have to accompany you," the guards said firmly.  "And she will be quiet."

Rose nodded and John took her hand again as they were led up the huge stairs of the castle, through winding halls and wings. Rose and John found themselves gaping, as Rose had never been _in_ a place long enough to see them, and John had never really been anywhere.  

They were led to a balcony, where they were told to wait as the guards went to fetch the King and Queen. John gripped her hand tight as they faced away from the doors, staring into the distance. 

"What if they don't believe me?" John whispered, his eyes unblinking.

"They will," Rose tugged him to face her. "Look at me."

He sighed softly and looked at her, his eyes wide and full.  "Rose, I'm just afraid."

"I know," she said, "And that's okay.  But everything is going to be alright.  I promise."

"You promise?" John smiled a little. 

She beamed and cupped his cheek. "Yes," she said, "I do promise."  She reached up to slide her hand into his hair again and pulled him down to kiss him.  

He seemed to take great comfort in her touch, kissing her softly for several moments before pulling away and resting his forehead to hers. He giggled a little to himself and squeezed her waist.  

"Parents," he whispered, "I have parents."

"Yeah," She said, hugging him close, "You do.  And they're the bloody King and Queen, how did you manage that?"

He laughed and pulled back so that he could look at her. "I think you should know, though, that I'm glad my life has turned out the way it did."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "You're glad that you were held in a tower by a man who pretended to be your brother your whole life?"

"How would I have met you otherwise?"

Her heart felt like it was going to burst when he said that, and she would have responded, but the doors to their balcony opened and John turned around, standing tall.

Rose was a bit gobsmacked, because the King really did look like John.  He had a beard, and a longer face, and perhaps some gray throughout all his hair, but he looked similar to the young man. The Queen was beautiful and still looked rather young, short for the light bags under her eyes, like she hadn't slept well in years.

Rose supposed she wouldn't sleep well after that.

The Queen ran forward and hugged her son, openly sobbing.  The King came up closer, his hand over his mouth.  Slowly he came up and joined the embrace with his family.

Rose felt a little uncomfortable, like she was intruding on a nice, family moment, and she stepped back, looking anywhere but at the three of them.  After a few moments, she felt a tug on her hand.  The Queen smiled at her and she was tugged into the embrace as well.

She wondered when was the last time she had felt like she'd had a family.  It had been a very long time.

****

The next week followed in a blur, as John was announced to be the prince and Rose's sins were put behind her, as the King had put it, jokingly.  They had also moved them each into a room in the castle, as his parents had fallen in love with Rose as quickly as he had fallen in love with her. 

Had the Master lived, he would've been hung, and the King seemed to be disappointed that there was no repercussions for the man.  John reminded him that the Master was dead, and so it was all fine, really.  

Rose spent her time learning all sorts of things she should've known from the beginning. She furthered her education, and learned to cook and how to embroider. She was incredibly good at getting in trouble for embroidering dirty things on her pillows.  They made the Queen laugh so hard that she cried, and though she scolded Rose, the two women liked to hide the pillows in closets for the servants to find.  

John was _thrilled_ that the Queen and Rose were such good friends, and they all had tea together in the afternoon.  

It was one night, late and dark, when Rose heard her door crack open. She sat up in the frankly humongous bed that the King and Queen had given her, her hair a mess around her head. 

"Hello?" She said, squinting into the light that was coming into the room from the doorway.

A very shy John slipped into her room and shut the door behind him, plunging them back into darkness.  She could practically feel the discomfort in his body from where she sat.   She giggled a little and he approached the side of the bed. 

"Hi," She said, a little warmer, now that she knew it was him.

He sat on the edge of her bed.  "Hi," He whispered back.

She patted the bed.  "Come on, then."

He gratefully got under the covers and cuddled up next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist.  "I couldn't sleep, I've had a lot on my mind."

"Like what?" She asked, allowing her fingers to coast over his face, imagining she could feel the freckles underneath her fingertips.  "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, and I know it's a bit taboo to talk to you about this before you've even agreed, and it's only been a couple months, and we're both still learning about this, but-"

"John."

"Um, yes, Rose?"

"Spit it out, love, will you?"  She said fondly, but before he could do anything, she leaned forward and kissed him, hoping to loosen him up some.  He took the bait, his hand fisting into the back of her nightdress.  After several blissful moments (or minutes, neither of them were really sure) he pulled back panting and she giggled.

"Are you sure you want me to tell you?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Well, mind that I would ask you in a proper way after you agreed, I just don't want to embarrass myself to you, you know, because I'm really quite fond of you, you're the most important person in my life, and-"

"John," She mumbled sleepily, "You're rambling again."

He mumbled something under her breath and she tugged the front of his shirt.  He sighed again and nuzzled his nose against hers. "Rose, I want to marry you."

She gasped softly and he scooted back from her.  "I'm sorry," he stuttered out, "I didn't mean to- if you don't want to- or you'd rather I did it another way-"

She tackled him down onto her mattress and squeezed him tight.  "You really wanna marry me?" She mumbled into his neck.

"Um, yes."

"Okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah.

"Oh, brilliant!"  He squeezed her hard and the breath whooshed out of her. "Good, I'm so glad.  I love you."

"I love you." She swatted him, "I do still expect a proper ask from you, though."

"Of course, yes, I already have things planned for you, and for the rest of our lives."

That was all he had wanted, really, was to come in and see her, but the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms, her head pillowed on his chest.  It felt like the most natural thing in the world, and quite honestly, Rose wasn't sure that she had ever been happier.

And well, I think by now you must know how this story ends.  The two of them had a beautiful royal wedding and the kingdom loved their prince and princess, and they loved each other, and the King and Queen loved their son and his wife.  

Of course, of _course,_

They all lived happily ever after.


End file.
